LOS ANGELES — Just like in the old days, they darken the crowd and crank up the high-priced incandescent lighting over the court for Lakers games at Staples Center. The goal is to make the arena feel like a theater, with every detail of the show in stunning clarity, and it works.

In the building’s heyday, its biggest action star was known for a repertoire of quick, decisive, often otherworldly movements that would make the unseen thousands in the shadows gasp in astonishment. Last spring, he retired.

But on Sunday afternoon, even with all of those light bulbs illuminating every tiny detail, Kawhi Leonard delivered an impersonation convincing enough to make at least a few onlookers wonder if Kobe Bryant had made a comeback.

“If you squint you could see it,” Spurs guard Danny Green said. “Stop on a dime, fake, stop, hezzy (hesitation dribble), fade baseline. Yeah, he’s got it down.”

This did not happen by accident. When Leonard entered the NBA, Green often found the youngster analyzing old game tapes. Leonard would watch Bryant, then Michael Jordan, then Bryant again. Eventually, he picked up a few things.

An outgoing personality was not one of them, nor was an eagerness to embrace the kind of glare that comes with playing in one of the world’s biggest media markets. Asked after his 25-point performance Sunday whether he gives a thought to whether he’s playing on a big stage or not, Leonard didn’t even blink.

“Every game is the same,” Leonard said. “There’s two baskets. There’s a crowd. So you just try and come out and get a win.”

Such is the kind of outlook that made Leonard largely disinterested in the kind of silliness associated with an All-Star Game, where Bryant always felt more at home.

And while there are other significant differences between them — body type, shot selection, how they fit into the dynamics of a locker room — the similarities are more abundant than one might think.

In today’s league, Leonard gets more raves about being an two-way player than anyone does, but Bryant used to be a mainstay on NBA all-defense teams. And on the offensive end, Leonard’s game now mirrors where Bryant’s once was.

In Bryant’s sixth season in the league, he averaged 25.2 points, 5.5 assists, 5.5 rebounds and 1.5 steals, while shooting 46.9 percent from the field.

In Leonard’s sixth season, he is averaging 25.8 points, 3.4 assists, 5.8 rebounds and 1.8 steals, while shooting 46.9 percent from the field. Notably, Leonard has been better than sixth-year Bryant was from behind the arc (39 percent to 25 percent).

It is as if Leonard has morphed into a San Antonio hybrid of what Bryant was — toned-down, not as flashy, and less willing to linger under all of those lights.

But Green second-guesses those who think Leonard would be incapable of being a big-city superstar. Sure, he was made for South Texas. But after watching the way he’s handled everything thrown at him, Green said he thinks Leonard could thrive in Southern California, too.

“He’s comfortable where he is, but I think now he could adapt and adjust to any market,” Green said. “It would have been different for him if he would have come into L.A. (as a rookie). I don’t know how he would have been groomed.”

Green chuckled about the grooming part. Knowing what we know now about how the Lakers’ drama has played out in recent years, Leonard probably was far better served by studying Bryant’s game tape from afar than he would have been if he’d been competing with him for minutes in Los Angeles.

And then there is the difference in what each organization asks its best players to do. After the departure of Shaquille O’Neal, there never was any question the Lakers wanted one star to carry them.

Pau Gasol was part of those teams. And even though he speaks glowingly of his new best teammate, he said the Spurs aren’t asking Leonard to emulate his old one.

“This team doesn’t need anyone to score 30 points a game,” Gasol said. “We’re a balanced, well-diverse team with a lot of players who can score the ball. You’ve got to give up some of yourself for the benefit of the team.”

Could Bryant have done that if he had ended up in San Antonio? Probably not quite like Leonard has.

So in the end, they both ended up where they belonged. And while Leonard still has a long way to go to match Bryant’s legacy, days like Sunday proved he’s worthy of providing a flashback.

If you squint.

mfinger@express-news.net

Twitter: @mikefinger