By Jamie Thomas

At the time of writing, Kennedy Leonard is less than 24 hours removed from breaking the single-season assist record in the WBBL, with a quite ridiculous 182 assists in just 17 championship games.

It’s the latest in a long line of superb records that the Scotland and GB International has emphatically claimed as her own, but she has her eyes set on one more big feat before this awesome 2020/21 season draws to a close: leading the Lions to playoff glory.

“Winning the playoffs would top my list for sure.” Leonard said. “Playing professional and winning a championship – not many people get to say that they’ve done that! No matter how many personal records I have, this would definitely be the front-runner. I’ll do what I can to help us get there and hopefully we can come out on top.”

“I know in college I set the assists record for Colorado and that’s probably the biggest one I hold. My dad would be able to tell you them all, but I honestly don’t know. This is a big one, though, to hold this record in British Basketball is a huge blessing.

“I’m so grateful every time I manage to achieve something like this, and I hope it speaks for the hard work I’ve put in throughout my life.”

“We know what we’re capable of and believe we can win it all.”

A must-watch wherever she has played, whether it be Southlake Carroll High School, Texas, or Colorado State where she ranks top-10 all-time in over a dozen categories, holding records for assists, assists per game and assists for a season, or in Germany competing in the EuroCup, Leonard is looking forward to her first playoffs as a professional in May with Mark Clark’s side.

The 24-year-old floor general discussed what she is expecting from her first professinoal outing in this winner-takes-all scenario, as well as the ‘intriguing game-changer’ she is expecting to level the playing field for all the teams involved, regardless of previous experience.

“In high school I had playoffs for State Championships, in College I had a few huge games in the PAC-12 tournament and last year in Germany I played in the EuroCup which was huge, travelling to different countries and stuff like that.

“This will be my first professional experience of playoffs, though, so I’m really excited for them and honestly don’t know what to expect. It’s going to be an unknown situation for everybody, though, because of the circumstances in the world, so that is an intriguing game-changer.

“We know what we’re capable of and believe we can win it all. The feeling of the playoffs changes a lot of people, so we’ll definitely be locked in and ready. We feel good about ourselves, we’re rooting for ourselves and know that others won’t be, but we’re all we need. It will be tough, anything can happen, but we believe in us to be able to get it done.”

“There is still a lot to be uncovered with this group, for sure.”

A cursory look at the statistics charts in the WBBL this season will show you the plethora of talent the Lions have on their roster, as many players rank highly in the overall rankings to go alongside a very impressive league standing given the club’s previous history.

New investment has certainly helped to attract such great talent to the club, but the cohesion of the group is what stands out the most on-court for the new-look Lions as their high-energy style has powered them to big wins this season, and Leonard feels there is still more to come from the team.

“I love this team. I knew a few of the players before I came to play here, but I don’t think anybody expected us to do this well in our first year, especially with the club’s history where we perhaps haven’t competed at this level before.

“For us to come in and flip the script like we have speaks a lot to our character and willingness to want to change things and our effort to do that, but this is such a good group of girls and it is hard to find situations like this.

“I still think there is a lot to be uncovered with this group, for sure. Sevenoaks has been together for years, for example, so when things hit the wall for them they just bounce back and we’re still trying to figure that out, but that is part of the process, part of our learning and we all know that.

“We’ve come from different places with different experiences in all of our careers, so to bring that all together in one place in the circumstances as we have done is not easy, but we’ve done a really good job of that and everybody has made it feel like home.”

“What they see in me and others they can become themselves.”

The increased coverage the WBBL has received this season has certainly resulted in a new generation of young players being inspired by the likes of Leonard and others across the league to pick up a basketball and give this brilliant sport a try, which is something that delights the young Lions star.

Leonard herself has undoubtedly inspired others, with her feisty style of play seeing her fill up the box-score on a regular basis, and that is something she confesses to feeling very proud of.

“It’s hard for people to do much right now so the ability to watch our games and see the women’s game on their televisions is something this situation in the world has certainly helped with. What it has shown is there are different ways to reach different audiences and it is really cool to be a part of.

“I was proud in college to help inspire young players there, but here I think it is even cooler for me because my mum is from Scotland, I haven’t spent a tonne of time there but I’m Scottish and I know access to basketball there isn’t as easy or as emphasised, so to be able to inspire girls there and in the UK is really important to me.

“I hope that they can look at me and other players and think if I can do it then they can. It is a tough road to get there, but what they see in me and others they can become themselves, so to try and keep encouraging them and show them it is possible is really important.”