Chicago Bulls forward Patrick Williams carefully studied and idolized Kawhi Leonard growing up so the opportunity to play the Los Angeles Clippers on Sunday was a special day for the fourth overall pick.
The Bulls rookie scored a career-high 17 points in the 130-127 loss to the Clippers while Leonard turned in another spectacular performance with 35 points. Leonard erupted for 21 points alone in the third quarter, which marked the most points in any period of his career.
Williams said afterward that he learned a lot of Leonard over the years.
He noticed how Leonard would often be involved in plays, even if he wasn’t directly in on the action. Perhaps the biggest area he learned from Leonard was on defense. Williams pointed to the way Leonard used his hands and arms, something he wants to continue to improve on.
I learned a lot from Kawhi. I think a lot of people know this but Kawhi is my favorite player. I watched a lot of his film growing up. I learned everything from him, really, just from the mid-post. Even when he wasn’t involved in the play, he would still tell guys where to be. Then, defensively, how to use your hands and arms to get deflections and steals and that kinda translates to teammates and things like that.
Williams often drew comparisons to Leonard during the pre-draft process. Even on Friday, LeBron James noticed how big Williams’ hands are, which reminded him of Leonard.
Williams has heard the comparisons and can see why they’ve been made.
Part of the reason why he was my favorite player was because I did see a lot of similarities. I try to pick up on things that he does. I’ve been trying to do that since high school. In my year in college, I tried to do that more. I definitely see the potential that I have to be a player like him, a two-way player that can get stops, guard the best player and also be a reliable offensive talent. I talk a lot about being a two-way player and he’s kinda the model of a great two-way player. I definitely look up to him and his game and it’s a blessing to be out there and play against him today.
Chicago has faced a tough schedule recently with Williams drawing the matchup of guarding Leonard and James. He has mostly held his own in those assignments as a rookie and said it has given him a valuable learning experience.
Williams has been among the early highlights of the rookie class and his production has seemingly been a huge addition for the Bulls to this point of the season.
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