Many are aware that the San Antonio Spurs are a championship organization thanks to the brain trust of General Manager R.C. Buford, head coach Gregg Popovich and the winning culture they’ve developed over the years with Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili.
Those winning ways are likely to remain with Kawhi Leonard carrying the torch. It’s already begun in many ways — 24 years old, Finals MVP, Defensive Player of the Year.
But in order to truly understand San Antonio’s success on the floor, you have to go inside their dedication to player development behind the scenes.
Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express News has been running an interesting three-part series on the “making of Kawhi Leonard”, with a focus on the Spurs’ staff asking Leonard one simple question.
“Do you want to be good, or do you want to be great?”
McDonald details the growth from there, with a nod toward the Spurs coaching staff and the game plan of working on shot construction, developing a variety of offensive moves to finally becoming one of the best defenders in the NBA:
“Not everybody wants to be a great player,” Leonard said. “They’re just planning to stay in their role. That’s not me. I’m trying to be the best player I can.”
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