Just about the only place that Kawhi Leonard and Jordan Hamilton didn’t play against or with one another was in college.
Otherwise, they’ve been on the court together over and over, first as high school opponents in Los Angeles – Leonard at Martin Luther King Jr. High in Riverside and Hamilton at Dominguez Hills in Compton – and they even played together in 2008 in a couple of tournaments for a stacked AAU team that also included Mississippi State center Renardo Sidney.
Their paths never crossed as under recruited Leonard took the road less traveled to San Diego State and Hamilton went to star at Texas. But on Tuesday they were again face to face – just as they had been two days before in front of the Charlotte Bobcats – a pair of NBA draft first-round projected wings matched up, working out for the Wizards at Verizon Center.
“We’ve just been around each other in the basketball life probably since junior year of high school,” Leonard said. “We both know each other. We’re pretty cool friends. We went out there and just told each other, ‘Let’s compete. Let’s get after it.’”
The 6-foot-7 Leonard, who averaged 15.5 points and 10.6 rebounds to lead the Aztecs to a 34-3 record that included the program’s best-ever ranking (No. 4) and its first-ever NCAA tournament victories before a Sweet 16 loss to eventual national champion Connecticut, gives up an inch to Hamilton in height, but he more than makes up for it with a 7-3 wingspan that is five inches longer than that of Hamilton, who averaged 18.6 points and 7.7 rebounds for the Longhorns (28-8), who were bounced in the second round by Arizona.
When they played AAU together for the L.A. Dream Team, Leonard was the power forward while Hamilton stuck to small forward.
“He always had those long arms,” Hamilton said.
On Tuesday, those differences were apparent as Leonard’s defensive prowess, wingspan and massive hands prevailed over Hamilton’s shooting abilities in individual drills. Leonard also finished with his own solid shooting display that included going 4-for-4 running end to end for 15-foot jumpers.
Both players were utterly gassed, but Hamilton blamed his slow start on missing breakfast.
“Just today hit that bump, didn’t get up early enough to get food, but that’s my fault,” Hamilton said.
The workout was just the second for Leonard, who could very well find himself selected by the Wizards on June 23 and has limited his workouts to lottery teams. Hamilton, who said his visit to Washington was the sixth of an expected dozen or more workouts, could also be a late lottery pick.
No surprise, they’ve stayed in constant contact as the draft approaches.
“He’s not my arch enemy or anything,” Leonard said. “We out here trying to do the same thing, and gaining confidence or advice from one another just helps to release some pressure off one another’s backs.”
Maryland forward Jordan Williams, Oakland center Keith Benson, Michigan guard Darius Morris and Hofstra guard Charles Jenkins also participated in the workout. More on Williams later.
