It may sound silly now, given the heights that Kawhi Leonard has reached in his stellar NBA career. However, there was a time when the San Antonio Spurs’ brilliant minds, notably iconic head coach Gregg Popovich and his trusted assistant, Mike Budenholzer, weren’t entirely sold on the standout from San Diego State.
In fact, when the proposal to acquire the talented wingman for veteran point guard George Hill was placed on the table, Popovich went back and forth, thoroughly contemplating the move, essentially describing it as the hardest call he’s had to make in his distinguished career.
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Scared to death
It didn’t take long for Leonard to establish himself as an NBA prospect. Despite playing for a relatively unknown school, San Diego State, he put the Aztecs on the map, especially during his second and final collegiate year, when he led them to the Sweet 16 before losing to the eventual NCAA champions, UConn. He finished his NCAA career averaging a double-double 14.1 points and 10.2 rebounds per game.
However, those apparently weren’t enough to convince Popovich that Leonard was their guy. The decision was made harder when the Indiana Pacers declared they wanted Hill as part of the deal.
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“The toughest in whatever, 20, whatever years I’ve been coaching here as a head coach. It’s not even close. We were scared to death sitting in the room,” Popovich said. “Danny Ferry, our CEO, and I were looking at each other saying, ‘Are we really going to do this?'”
The legendary coach recalled that even though it was tough to part with Hill, the Spurs‘ need for more size and athleticism outweighed his affinity for the savvy guard.
“Hill was one of my favorite players. He was important to us, but we needed to get bigger,” Popovich stated. “So in the end, we said we’re going to roll the bones and we’re going to do it, but I can’t tell that at that point we knew that Kawhi was going to be what he is today. That would be an exaggeration.”
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Kawhi didn’t stand out
Budenholzer confirmed Popovich’s hesitation to acquire Leonard. Although he put up good numbers and established himself as one of the best rebounders in the NCAA, what they saw with their own eyes in the pre-draft workouts didn’t wow them.
“I would say it’s a little bit of a funny story. I just think he wasn’t real impressive during his lockout workouts,” Budenholzer remembered. “The guys would get organized and they would work out together on their own and then when the lockout ends, you kind of get a little bit of feedback like, ‘How is this guy doing? How’s that guy doing?'”
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Obviously, the Spurs pulled the trigger on that deal and Leonard went on to have a solid rookie year, averaging 7.4 points and 5.1 rebounds as a 20-year-old playing with some of the best veteran players — Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili, Tony Parker — the league had ever seen. Still, Budenholzer didn’t back off the notion that some of their staff members had their doubts about getting Leonard.
“It’s a great story now, because Kawhi is obviously f–king kicking ass and a hell of a player,” he noted. “But I will say there were not a lot of people that were real impressed with him in those workouts.”
The NBA Draft is and always will be a tricky process. Teams are tasked with evaluating the potential of players, both on and off the court, based on limited information. And sometimes, a player can slip through the cracks and end up exceeding all expectations. Leonard was one such player, as he went on to become the NBA Finals MVP in only his third season in the league.
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This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Sep 5, 2025, where it first appeared in the Old School section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.