The Toronto Raptors rode a historically good Kawhi Leonard regular season and playoffs en route to winning the 2019 NBA championship, a run that reportedly had the Finals MVP proclaiming he was better all-time than Kobe Bryant.
During a recent segment of the Underground Podcast featuring Kevin Durant and Fred VanVleet, VanVleet, who played with Kawhi Leonard on the 2019 Raptors, explained how Leonard might have felt that he was better than Kobe Bryant considering the run he had that season.
“Kawhi changed my view on a lot of s**t, but there was one thing in particular that I overheard. He didn’t say it to me, I just overheard it. And it was a conversation that was being had, and the sentiment of that conversation. . .was when we won the championship. . .was like, ‘I’m better than Kobe,’” VanVleet recalled. “I started thinking to myself, I know how I feel about where I stand, because I’m on the court and I’m playing against some of these guys and your favorites.”
“When he said it, I said, ‘well, if I’m him,’ and those three words, changed how I look at the game,” VanVleet continued. “If I’m him, how do I feel.”
Article Continues Below
While both Durant and VanVleet pretty much acknowledged that they don’t particularly share the belief that Leonard might be better all-time than Bryant, they both admitted that they can certainly understand the mindset.
“That run that he went on, it’s not a bad thing to feel that way,” Durant said. “But I don’t like to use that as an example and say because I did this, I’m better than this. . .I get that mindset feeling though. Kawhi probably feels this, ‘you drop me anywhere, anytime in the history of earth, anybody playing basketball, I can do this anywhere.’ No matter if it’s Kobe or MJ, you put Kawhi anywhere, I’m confident that he could do the same s**t.”
Regardless of Leonard’s claim, he is already considered one of the best players to ever play the game, and was selected to the NBA’s 75th Anniversary Team. He is without a doubt a future Hall of Famer with two NBA championships and two Finals MVPs under his belt.