Four-time NBA All-Star Kawhi Leonard is known for his skillful ball-hawking maneuvers and impressive professional career, causing him to become an inspiration for many basketball fans. It’s no wonder that fans would want to know where Kawhi Leonard got his start on the court.
Kawhi Leonard went to high school in Southern California at Riverside’s Martin Luther King High School. From there, he was recruited to San Diego State, where he began his career in professional basketball.
Although Kawhi Leonard, nicknamed “The Klaw,” leads a very private life, preferring to stay out of the spotlight and off social media, it’s a different story on the basketball court. The breakout star has had a stellar career since he began playing.
San Antonio Spurs
Kawhi Leonard began his rookie year in the NBA playing for the San Antonio Spurs in 2011. Although they had some ups and downs, including a devastating loss to the Miami Heat in 2013, they eventually rallied and won the 2014 NBA Finals against the Miami Heat.
In what would be a once in a lifetime opportunity for many, Kawhi Leonard met then-President Barack Obama after winning the 2014 NBA championship with the San Antonio Spurs. In one of his few tweets (around four since 2014), he posted a photo of them holding a basketball, stylized to look like a painting, and said of the moment, “One of my greatest experiences.”
Kawhi Leonard is not one for social media, making it incredibly clear that the moment meant a lot to him.
After this momentous win, Kawhi Leonard began the next season with an irritating eye injury, an infection in his right eye. He was unable to play the season opener game against Dallas, according to ESPN.
However, that didn’t hold him back as he continued into the season with career-high scores, including 32 points in a game against the Los Angeles Clippers.
Although his eyesight may have been blurry, his vision was clear – Kawhi Leonard won NBA Defensive Player of the Year in 2015.
Kawhi Leonard went on to play with the San Antonio Spurs until 2018.
Unfortunately, he was injured in a game and hurt his right quad, which affected his career with the Spurs. According to ESPN, the injury “essentially cost him the entire season has fascinated and frustrated the entire league.”
Although many wanted Kawhi Leonard to play on, he listened to his body and was eventually transferred north to the Toronto Raptors.
Toronto Raptors
This turned out to be a lucky move.
The Toronto Raptors were much more understanding of Kawhi Leonard’s injury, “sitting him out for 22 regular-season games to keep him fresh for the playoffs,” according to Bleacher Report.
Kawhi Leonard helped the Toronto team win their first NBA finals, much to the delight of Canadian basketball fans. Kawhi Leonard said of their historic win, “I wanted to make history here. That’s what I did.”
The city loved him for it, even dedicating a mural to the stoic superstar.
Although there was suspicion that the city would take him joining the Los Angeles Clippers as a betrayal, this proved untrue due to his warm reception at a game in Vancouver. Kawhi Leonard said of Canadian fans, “They’re very nice people.”
Los Angeles Clippers
As he grew up in California, it makes sense that Kawhi Leonard would want to return home. He signed with the Los Angeles Clippers in 2019.
Kawhi Leonard is one of the highest-paid professional athletes in the world, ranking at number 43 on Forbes’ list of the World’s Highest-Paid Athletes, earning $30.5 million in 2020.
It makes sense, then, that the basketball superstar would inspire many young students from his hometown. As Kawhi Leonard said, “Education is very important … me being a public figure, I just wanted to be able to shed light on that.”
He followed through with his values, inviting his past teachers to watch him play with the Los Angeles Clippers, where they proceeded to defeat the Denver Nuggets. Not only did they watch the superstar play, but they won “backpacks, laptops and school supplies as part of a larger, team-led campaign dubbed “Kawhi It,”” according to a source from the Los Angeles Times.
Many people don’t know who they will be once they leave high school, but that wasn’t the case with Kawhi Leonard – everyone knew. Even his high school basketball coach said in an interview with Sportsnet that he knew Kawhi Leonard would achieve greatness with the NBA.
He’s come a long way since being that shy kid in high school and is sure to achieve even more in the future.