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Kawhi Leonard’s trade to the Toronto Raptors transformed the team into quite the Eastern behemoth, winning 12 games early in the season and only losing three. The ex-Spurs superstar proved to be a perfect fit for the Raptors, putting up impressive numbers while remaining a significant threat on the defensive end of the floor each game.
But apart from his performance, his new Canadian fans are curious what kind of person Kawhi Leonard truly is. The talented forward has always been a reticent person and a guy who gets his point across with little words, Bleacher Report wrote.
Right now, it seems that the two-time Defensive Player of the Year is slowly opening up, not only with his teammates but with the media as well. This is surprising since everyone who follows the NBA has always viewed Kawhi Leonard as someone who distances himself from other people. Or so it appeared.
It turns out that he isn’t as cold as he’s publicly perceived to be back when he was still playing for the San Antonio Spurs. Serge Ibaka can attest to this as the forward/center has apparently developed quite the bond with Kawhi Leonard this early in the season, Yahoo reported.
“People actually don’t know, he’s a very nice guy, man!” says Ibaka. “It’s just, when it’s time to work he just gets serious, you know? When it’s time to work, it’s time to work!” The player also revealed two nicknames of Kawhi Leonard. One is “Cape Town” while the other is “Deadly Zombie.”
The second one is a perfect moniker given that the forward does have the demeanor of the undead and exudes a scary aura for the opposing team whenever he’s on the court. When he scores – be it a jump shot, dunk, or a three-pointer – the forward immediately runs to the other end of the court to defend the rim. No celebration, no dancing, no nothing. He does this all game long, then sits down with the media and talks about basketball. Zombie indeed.
So far, the Raptors are the favorite to win the Eastern Conference Finals and are even shaping up to stand toe to toe with the Western juggernaut, the Golden State Warriors. Hopefully, Kawhi Leonard stays healthy throughout the season and during the Playoff run so that NBA fans can really see how far the forward has improved his game.
