When entering the NBA, rookies have their seasons carved out in a unique manner. Each has duties to fulfill, they will remember for the rest of their careers, moments against superstars that served as wake-up calls, and even memories with players they idolized growing up. However, LA Clippers’ second-round pick, Kobe Sanders, recently revealed his ‘welcome to the league’ moment: it came during practice with the starting lineup, led by superstars Kawhi Leonard and James Harden, which is not the slightest bit shocking.
Furthermore, in a segment on ‘Run It Back’ with FanDuelTV, Sanders spoke with former Clippers Lou Williams and DeMarcus Cousins, as well as with Chandler Parsons, a once-star for the Houston Rockets, and Michelle Beadle, a highly-regarded sports reporter, and mentioned that at the early stages of training camp, Harden and Leonard stomped the second unit off the court.
Particularly, Williams and Cousins have experience with Leonard, so to a certain extent, they can relate. Yet, it goes to show that even against the rookies, before the regular season kicked off, the superstar duo was locked in, ready to dominate whoever was in front of them.
Kobe Sanders’ welcoming moment prepared him for the reality of the NBA
From the moment he was drafted, it was important that the two best players on the team, Kawhi Leonard and James Harden, did not go easy on Kobe Sanders. He is a rookie at the end of the day, but Harden and Leonard were required to go out of their way to demonstrate the difficulties and challenges of the NBA.
Thus, by being destroyed in training camp, Sanders learned he had to work harder. He could then prepare accordingly, so that when his number is called, he is beyond ready to shock the world.
Moreover, following countless double-digit scoring performances, a career-high of 20 points versus the New York Knicks, and a crucial 11 points in the recent win against the Los Angeles Lakers, it is safe to say the toughness Harden and Leonard had in training camp paid off.
Sanders is also one of the more underrated rookies in his class, and has averaged 6.8 points, 2.4 rebounds, and 1.5 assists, shooting 44.2% from the floor and 38.9% from beyond the arc.
That said, Harden and Leonard taught Sanders his first professional lesson, and he can do his job as a sophomore next season by paying it forward to the 2026 rookie draft class.