Kawhi Leonard's quiet drive

[ace3g]

You pronounce San Antonio Spurs star Kawhi Leonard's first name "Kuh-why." And yet Leonard refuses to make "why" a part of his life anymore.

Why was his dad murdered that Friday night five years ago at the Compton, Calif., car wash he owned?

Why has no one been arrested?

Why has not even one witness cooperated with the police?

"Man, I just try not to think about it," says the 6-foot-7 Leonard, who was 16 when his dad was shot and killed. "It was in L.A. Murders happen out there and nobody ever finds out. It is what it is, I guess."

It's a shame, because Mark Leonard would love to see what a wondrous baller his son turned out to be. Kawhi plays nastier defense than a pawn-shop dog. His motor is limitless. He's become a bankable 3-point corner shooter, in the classic Spurs style. And he's one of the big reasons the Spurs are in the NBA Finals, beginning Thursday in Miami, where he'll guard LeBron James himself.

"Oh, my, Mark would be so proud right now," says Leonard's mom and Mark's ex-wife, Kim Robertson. "He'd be like, 'Wow! My son is in the NBA Finals? I just can't believe it!'"

And why wouldn't he? Much of Kawhi is Mark himself. It was Mark who gave Kawhi that unique name. ("He said he wanted something that sounded Hawaiian," Kawhi says.) He taught him his shot. He'd run him up hills in the summer to get in shape. He stayed on him about his grades. He fueled Kawhi's unquenchable work ethic. If the car Kawhi was hand-washing didn't turn out clean enough to eat spaghetti off of, his dad would make him do it again.

continue: http://espn.go.com/espn/story/_/id/9341509/kawhi-leonard

[Spur|n|Austin]

Proud to have him in a Spurs jersey, and hopefully for a long time. Now it's time to see how he reflects the bright lights come Thursday.

[hater]

He said he wanted something that sounded Hawaiian

that's why I call him Kawhi 5-0

:tu :tu :tu

[I. Hustle]

http://markemcwilliams.files.wordpress.com/2011/09/spaghetti_car_small.jpg

[nickdaquick]

What a great story. Hopefully Kawhi's knees will hold up so he can show the world how good he is.

[Creation88]

good read but i could have done without Reilly's terrible metaphors and anecdotes. the Porsche/Malibu story is the best.

[bthewigwam]

lol nice pic of spaghetti on car.

damn man that was a great article. type of player and person i'd root for even if he wasn't on the Spurs.

[Dirtywhisk]

:(

[I. Hustle]

After reading that... I want to have his babies. (no homo)

[Spur|n|Austin]

Kawhi is my fiance's 2nd favorite Spur and always says she wants to just give him a big hug. He definitely has some pain behind his eyes, and it's understandable why.

[moisaenz]

Wow "he still drives the malibu more" ... hahaha has a porsche and drives a malibu. That how "Spurs roll".

[pikkiwoki]

:cry

kind of depressing

[davidbowie]

great read

love this cornrowed fool. but yeah Reilly sucks

[I. Hustle]

Kawhi is my fiance's 2nd favorite Spur and always says she wants to just give him a big hug with her vagina. He definitely has some pain behind his eyes, and it's understandable why.

fify

[Robz4000]

I'm so proud to have this guy on the team. Really hope he goes out there and leaves it all on the court in the Finals, maybe even winning a ring in the process.

[Aztecfan03]

After reading that... I want to have his babies. (no homo)

From NBA: You are fined $75,000

[tesseractive]

good read but i could have done without Reilly's terrible metaphors and anecdotes.
Reilly used to be the best sportswriter alive once upon a time. It's pretty clear now just how far behind him those days are.

[FlAVaK]

If the car Kawhi was hand-washing didn't turn out clean enough to eat spaghetti off of, his dad would make him do it again.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3PycZtfns_U

[capek]

After reading that... I want to have his babies. (no homo)

Get in line. :ihit

:lol

Anyways, I'll admit that after I heard sometime last year about the tragedy involving his father, and having observed how singularly focused he is, I worried that he was going the workaholic route to avoid dealing with this loss. I worried that there could potentially be a breakdown in his future if that were the case. But the more I learn of him, it seems like this is just his personality; his work ethic might well be one of the ways he pays tribute to his father's memory. Like all Spurs fans I feel quite privileged to be able to watch him progress first hand, with "my" team benefiting, and just hope that he has some peace of mind off the court.

[LoneStarState'sPride]

How can you NOT like this kid?

[spursfan09]

Wow didn't know that. You can see his pain. I hope he has learned to cope and move on and not let it eat at him

[barakz21]

He's quickly becoming my #3 favorite Spur, next to TD and TP, and overtaking Manu.

[jermaine]

This is the guy the NBA should be promoting. Hard work, selflessness , respectable, don't try to bling everything out, just a flat out good guy man. He is really a rare black young man. I hope we win for Leonard an Timmy man. God needs to look down on that boy.

[DMC]

You pronounce San Antonio Spurs star Kawhi Leonard's first name "Kuh-why." And yet Leonard refuses to make "why" a part of his life anymore.

Why was his dad murdered that Friday night five years ago at the Compton, Calif., car wash he owned?

Why has no one been arrested?

Why has not even one witness cooperated with the police?

"Man, I just try not to think about it," says the 6-foot-7 Leonard, who was 16 when his dad was shot and killed. "It was in L.A. Murders happen out there and nobody ever finds out. It is what it is, I guess."

It's a shame, because Mark Leonard would love to see what a wondrous baller his son turned out to be. Kawhi plays nastier defense than a pawn-shop dog. His motor is limitless. He's become a bankable 3-point corner shooter, in the classic Spurs style. And he's one of the big reasons the Spurs are in the NBA Finals, beginning Thursday in Miami, where he'll guard LeBron James himself.

"Oh, my, Mark would be so proud right now," says Leonard's mom and Mark's ex-wife, Kim Robertson. "He'd be like, 'Wow! My son is in the NBA Finals? I just can't believe it!'"

And why wouldn't he? Much of Kawhi is Mark himself. It was Mark who gave Kawhi that unique name. ("He said he wanted something that sounded Hawaiian," Kawhi says.) He taught him his shot. He'd run him up hills in the summer to get in shape. He stayed on him about his grades. He fueled Kawhi's unquenchable work ethic. If the car Kawhi was hand-washing didn't turn out clean enough to eat spaghetti off of, his dad would make him do it again.

continue: http://espn.go.com/espn/story/_/id/9341509/kawhi-leonard

Why does every black athlete have a family crisis story almost exactly like that? It gets to the point of making viewers numb to it.

Btw, by reading the story I'd suspect Kawhi did it himself.

[eyeh8u]

KL's story is interesting, the writer's corny style is not.

[Budkin]

A Spur through and through. What a find. I feel so bad for him about his Dad. I lost my dad too and it still hurts like a bitch. I think he's going to make him even more proud in the Finals.

[Captivus]

This is the guy the NBA should be promoting. Hard work, selflessness , respectable, don't try to bling everything out, just a flat out good guy man.

That makes too much sense...DENIED!

[DarrinS]

Love this kid, no homo

[playblair]

This is the guy the NBA should be promoting. Hard work, selflessness , respectable, don't try to bling everything out, just a flat out good guy man. He is really a rare black young man. I hope we win for Leonard an Timmy man. God needs to look down on that boy.

JOFyCc0k_hI

[SenorSpur]

Great kid. Great story.

You can certainly sense the pain in his eyes and through demeanor. However, he's got a band of brothers now and full family support now that he's in the protective cocoon of the Spurs organization.

I hope destiny smiles upon him because he is on track for a bright future as a eventual star player for the Spurs.

[pgardn]

Like all Spurs fans I feel quite privileged to be able to watch him progress first hand, with "my" team benefiting, and just hope that he has some peace of mind off the court.

I wish I had typed this.

perfectly stated...

[DarrinS]

JOFyCc0k_hI

Watched it 3 times

[scramby eggs]

Great article. Alot better than any story SDC could come up with. That guy is terrible

[SupremeGuy]

After reading that... I want to have his babies. (no homo)After reading that.... I want to have this babies (yes homo) :hitit:

[YoMamaIsCallin]

I, an old upper middle class white guy, am a huge Kawhi Leonard fan. If he was 5-9 with short arms he'd still have a good life somewhere. What a great kid. We're fortunate to see him express himself on the basketball stage. He's in the place he was meant to be.