Los Angeles Clippers star Kawhi Leonard had high praise for Gregg Popovich after the San Antonio Spurs head coach stepped down this week. Following Saturday's season-ending 120-101 loss to the Denver Nuggets, Leonard said his former coach "had a phenomenal career."

Gregg Popovich coached many great players in his many seasons at the helm of the San Antonio Spurs. That certainly includes Kawhi Leonard. The multi-time All-Star entered the NBA as a raw, defensively-talented wing and transformed into one of the best two-way players in modern NBA history under Popovich's tutelage.

The Indiana Pacers selected Leonard with the 15th pick of the 2011 NBA Draft and then traded him to the San Antonio Spurs later that night. The Spurs and their then-head coach Gregg Popovich had seen something special in Leonard that others seemingly hadn't, and they certainly were on the money.