Kawhi Leonard Quotes

I like playing size per position defensively.

Whoever I'm playing against, I go in and try to stop their best scorer and try to get myself going on the offensive end.

I don't love playing zone all the time, because it does have an effect on your offense.

In my day, defenders played you with two hands and an elbow. You're not getting by a guy, especially if he has an elbow and a hand on you and is a strong defensive player.

Normally when we play against Brazil, we will just try to stop them from winning.

LeBron's probably the best player in the world, so you just have to make it tough for him, make him take tough jump shots and things like that.

Offensively, you do what you do best and you do it again and again. Defensively, you attack your opponent's strength.

Back when I played, basketball was all about fundamentals, about hustling, getting those loose balls, all those rebounds under the basket. That equals up to 12, 14, 16 points. You can lose a game with that much. It's different watching basketball now. People don't play the same way. It doesn't matter if you score, if you can't stop the other team from scoring. Our coach used to kick our ass if we didn't. I was told if you saw more of the other team color under the basket than your own team color, you ain't doing your job. Everybody should be under the board, trying to get that ball.

Defense is one man guarding the ball and four others helping him

You have to make the strikers fear you. Make it difficult for them to get on the ball and go into different areas. That makes my job easier.

Of course you think about the goalkeeper you are facing before a game. You have to prepare yourself for the game and think about the weakness of the players you are up against.

The way we stop Mesut Ozil is as a team. He's a good player but only as a team can we stop him.

You've gotta play a head game; especially blocking shots, you've gotta make it hard. You're playing against the best of the best: they're not gonna go straight to the basket, do a layup. You've gotta lure them into some shots.

My goal is simple - try and make sure my guy doesn't score. And if he does, make sure it's a contested two, or a tough shot.

There's two facets of this game. You know, if I'm not making shots, OK, then I have to do something on defense. So if I'm missing shots or making shots, it doesn't affect my overall game.

When someone's playing you man-to-man coverage, they're basically saying that guy's better than you. So that's why a lot of receivers feed off of that.

You can't afford to hop around and act like a kid when you have to get back on defense and worry about the other parts of the game. But at the end, when the buzzer sounds, you have the luxury of hopping around and looking foolish for a while.

I always try to go in there and stick to my base, which is the defensive end, and then just let the offense come to me.

It's a scary thing when a team don't know who to match up to, whose night it's going to be on the offensive end.

Don't give them 3-point shots if that's what they're trying to do and embarrass you in any way.

It's a war of wills out there on the court. You have to have a stronger will than your opponent, and every guy on your team has to feel that same way against the guy he's guarding.

Of course you don't want to concede a goal in any game.

I like to get physical on defense. I like to get up on a guy as much as possible. I actually need to calm down, though.

Especially going from an attacking player to a defensive player, your whole mindset has to change. You have to work on one-v-one defending versus one-v-one attacking.

Offence doesn't concern me. It's easier for people to get layups than it is to get stops on defence or a block.