Serge Ibaka says Kawhi Leonard has tried to be more of a vocal leader

Kawhi is stepping out of his comfort zone

Kawhi Leonard is one of the best players in basketball, but one of his biggest criticisms is his ability to lead.

Leonard is notoriously known as one of the quietest players in the NBA. He doesn't talk much, has no social media, and generally does his talking on the court. Most fans unanimously recognize him as a top 5 player in the NBA, but they've still wanted to see more as a leader. Serge Ibaka says Leonard has been working on that this season.

This year, [Kawhi Leonard] has really tried to be more vocal, more of a leader," Ibaka said.

When Leonard was a member of the Toronto Raptors, he was clearly the best player on the team, but Kyle Lowry was the heart and soul. For all of Kawhi's game-saving plays, Lowry was there to be the vocal leader for everything else.

Everyone knows that the Clippers have all the talent to win an NBA Championship. However, there's some kind of missing piece that prevented them from winning last year - whether it's adjustments or overall leadership. Kawhi has taken note of that and put the onus on himself to improve the team.

Kawhi's leadership was clearly missing on Sunday's blowout loss against the Dallas Mavericks. The Clippers have a back-to-back coming up against the Minnesota Timberwolves and Portland Trailblazers, and there's still some uncertainty on which game Kawhi is going to play. "As far as the back-to-backs go, we're going to gauge it one game at a time," head coach Ty Lue said. Kawhi is currently listed as questionable against the Wolves.

As of now, the Clippers still haven't really found a way to win without Kawhi Leonard. They're going to need him as soon as possible.