“Has to Step Outside His Shell”- NBA Legend Questions Kawhi Leonard and His Leadership

Kawhi Leonard built a reputation as one of the coldest players in the NBA. He always showed up in big moments and won two Finals MVP trophies for his efforts. After his win with the Toronto Raptors last season, the hyperbole around Kawhi inflated. However, the perception of Kawhi has changed after his Clippers were eliminated by the Denver Nuggets coming back from 3-1 down.

NBA Legend Antoine Walker has questioned Kawhi’s leadership style and holds him accountable for the loss to the Nuggets.

“His leadership skills do have to get better off the court. I have said it numerous times before, LeBron James, that is how he separates himself. He gets guys to buy in… Kawhi Leonard has to step outside his shell if he wants to be a champion for the Clippers.”

He also spoke about Kawhi’s mentality and approach to basketball. “Everybody is built differently. Kawhi may not have 3-4 championships in him. We may believe that as a skillset he can win 3 or 4 championships… He’s very quiet, he’s very sheltered, and he doesn’t talk a lot. We don’t know where he wants to be at as a pro and the way he wants to finish his career. He may be content where he is right now.”

Kawhi Leonard starting to plateau in his success?

Walker questioning whether we have seen the best of Kawhi Leonard already is very valid. Kawhi’s style of play is undeniably one of the best in the league. While it may be excessive to say he can’t lead his team after this one failure, but this failure is quite different.

The responsibility to lead on the court was with Kawhi for the first time in his professional career. He honestly dropped the ball this season, but may have a better approach for next year. From the looks of it, he needs to improve his on-court leadership to ensure what Walker said doesn’t end up coming true.