TORONTO - If Gregg Popovich didn't see Kawhi Leonard as a leader in San Antonio, Nick Nurse begs to differ.

Less than 24 hours after the veteran Spurs coach referenced Leonard in a comment about San Antonio's leadership, the Toronto Raptors coach defended his new star, staying he's already seen Leonard take on a leadership role in the relatively short time he's been with Toronto.

“Obviously he's got a little bit of a reserved personality, (but) he is a little bit more gregarious than everybody thinks. He's pretty funny and the guys really enjoy him, I really enjoy talking to him. He's got a good personality,” Nurse said.

“He just did a few little things in training camp as far as getting some guys to go to the gym with him early, he opened up one of his shooting times pre-game to let another guy. . . come shoot with him. Just some little, I think neat things that say a lot about a guy. He does it quietly, but they're leadership things to me.”

Nurse spoke Sunday before the Raptors tipped off against the visiting Miami Heat. His comments came after Popovich brought up Leonard's lack of leadership with the Spurs a day earlier.

“Well, Kawhi (Leonard) was a great player, but he wasn't a leader or anything,” Popovich said. “Manu (Ginobili) and Patty (Mills) were the leaders. Kawhi's talent will always be missed, but that leadership wasn't his deal at that time. That may come as he progresses, but Patty and Manu filled that role for us last year, and LaMarcus (Aldridge) came a long way in that regard also.”

Popovich's comments came after a follow-up question on the importance of Mills, particularly in the absence of Leonard, Ginobili and Tony Parker.

Leonard missed all but nine games due to a quadriceps injury in his bizarre final season in San Antonio.

Heading into Sunday's game, the 27-year-old was averaging 24.4 points and 8.4 rebounds in 33.1 minutes for the league-leading Raptors.

Nurse, who'd never met Leonard prior to last summer's blockbuster trade, said what he's been most impressed by is his work ethic.

“He's very serious about the game, he puts a lot of time into the game,” said Toronto's rookie head coach. “Surprisingly, a good leader. Seen some great leadership traits from him, and he's really good at both ends. That guy can really play both ends and everyone knew he was a great two-way player, but it's nice to have him on your side and see it up close.”