Immanuel Quickley draws inspiration from Kawhi Leonard and Lou Williams
Immanuel Quickley is a rookie whose stock seems to keep rising. That's because he's always willing to learn.
When the season started, Quickley mentioned that he modeled his game after Lou Williams.
For anyone who doesn't know: Immanuel Quickley said he models his game from Lou Williams. Cool to see him give Lou some love in the game. Not sure if it's the first time they ever met.pic.twitter.com/kOlS52BoCz
— Farbod Esnaashari (@Farbod_E) January 31, 2021
He finally got the chance to play him today, and he didn't let the moment go to waste. Quickley had the opportunity to shine, scoring 25 points against one of his idols. More importantly, he had the chance to tell Lou Williams that he was one of his favorite players.
Immanuel Quickley to Lou Williams: "You were one of my favorite players" pic.twitter.com/q2WLefysks
— Farbod Esnaashari (@Farbod_E) January 31, 2021
It didn't stop there for Quickley though. He actually started the game by trying to watch Kawhi Leonard's pregame warmup. Ty Lue said Immanuel Quickley stayed on the court after his pregame warmup so he could watch Kawhi Leonard go through his pregame routine - Quickley wanted to learn from Kawhi.
He's gained the respect and admiration from the Clippers in a very quick time. Paul George was one of those players whose respect grew.
"I like him," George said. "We were just talking about him in the back. His floater game is off the charts... I thought he was fearless."
The biggest form of respect an older player can have from a promising younger player is knowing a younger player wants to learn from them. It means all the more when the veteran sees the rookie start flourishing in their role. It lets players like Lou Williams know that their game is properly inspiring younger talent to become successful players in today's game. Besides winning an NBA championship, that's as good as it gets.