"Watch the whole game": Kawhi Leonard schools teammates as they compare Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain and Shaquille O'Neal
Kawhi Leonard has said a few times that he is a student of the game. The two-time NBA Finals MVP remains a big fan of past players and still learns a thing or two from them. Leonard’s mid-range game even reminds people of how Kobe Bryant or Michael Jordan dominated from that spot.
After the LA Clippers’ 128-119 win over the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday, two of Leonard’s teammates were debating about past greats. Ivica Zubac and Jeremy Castleberry were comparing who were the best centers to ever play the game.
When asked by a reporter what the animated discussion was all about, Kawhi Leonard responded (via Law Murray):
“They’re showing me a video of Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain. I’m just telling them ‘Why y’all on Instagram? You gotta watch the whole game.’ And they went from there to saying Shaq [O’Neal] was better. I don’t know. I just told them I’d take both of them.”
Most basketball fans believe Wilt Chamberlain was more skilled and talented than Bill Russell. The late great Boston Celtics legend, though, was almost unbeatable during his career. He was the leader of 11 championship Celtics teams from the mid-50s to the late ‘60s. Russell might have won 12 had an ankle injury not sidelined him in the 1958 NBA Finals.
Chamberlain’s numbers, however, were just simply awe-inspiring. He once averaged 50.4 points and 25.7 rebounds in one season. His 100-point output against the York Knicks in 1962 is likely never going to be broken like many of his records.
Kawhi Leonard has no problem taking one or both on his team.
Kawhi Leonard already has more NBA Finals MVP awards than Wilt Chamberlain
Kawhi Leonard helped the San Antonio Spurs win the 2014 NBA championship at the expense of LeBron James’ “Heatles.” He won his first Finals MVP that year and tied Wilt Chamberlain’s career achievement in that category. "The Big Dipper" won his in 1972 with the LA Lakers.
In 2019, Leonard led the Toronto Raptors to their first franchise championship against the Golden State Warriors. He won his second NBA Finals MVP, putting him past Chamberlain and one short of Shaquille O’Neal’s collection.
O’Neal won three with the LA Lakers in the early 2000s. He was the first to win three straight NBA Finals MVP awards since Michael Jordan did it twice in the 1990s.
The LA Clippers are looking like legit championship contenders this season. James Harden’s addition, after a miserable start, has turned them into a juggernaut. They look like they have a very big chance of winning the championship. If that happens, Kawhi Leonard might win his third NBA Finals MVP award and tie Shaq.
The award has been known appropriately as the Bill Russell Trophy since 2009. The NBA renamed it in honor of the league’s most prolific winner of championships.