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The Los Angeles Clippers and their leading superstar, Kawhi Leonard, were ridiculed after their collapse against the Denver Nuggets in the bubble. A true contender closes games, and the Clippers weren’t able to do so. But this season, Kawhi Leonard and the Los Angeles Clippers have come out strong: they are currently in 1st place in the Western Conference, and this season could be the year that the Los Angeles Clippers get the monkey off their back and make it to the NBA Finals. Their dominance during the start of the season suggests that they could be turning a corner from last season.
A large part of their early-season success has been the play of Kawhi Leonard, their two-way superstar. Due to the Clippers recently choking away a 3-1 lead, Kawhi Leonard has been out of the conversation as the best player in the league. But just a few years ago, he had led the Toronto Raptors to their first franchise championship against the Golden State Warriors and hit a Game 7 buzzer-beater earlier those playoffs against the Philadelphia 76ers. This year, Kawhi Leonard is quietly entering the MVP conversation: he is putting up elite numbers on the best team in the West. Kawhi Leonard has the potential to show that he is the next player up this season, and win the MVP award itself.
Kawhi Leonard Is Averaging Some Elite Offensive Stats
Kawhi Leonard is putting together one of his most complete shooting seasons in history. Kawhi Leonard is currently averaging 25.9 PPG, 5.2 RPG, and 5.4 APG. He has clearly improved his playmaking to benefit his teammates. During his time with the Toronto Raptors, Kawhi Leonard had less playmaking burden due to the presence of elite passers like Kyle Lowry and Marc Gasol. Leonard also had Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker during his run with the San Antonio Spurs. But during his time with the Los Angeles Clippers, Leonard has had to develop his vision and passing, and that has paid off immensely. Kawhi Leonard will always be a scoring centric player: but his 5.4 APG is a career-high, and his work on his playmaking is showing in what he does on the court.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P0UuEr28JLY
Due to the Los Angeles Clippers having some elite spacing, even at the center position (Serge Ibaka), Kawhi Leonard constantly has someone on the perimeter who can knock down an open jumper. We see Kawhi Leonard punish the San Antonio defenders for double-teaming him by passing to a wide-open shooter. Among the top 10 players in minutes played among the Clippers, none of them have below a 36.2% from beyond the arc. Their threat from outside allows Leonard to use his burgeoning playmaking. When Kawhi Leonard gets the ball, the defense has two options: they can let Kawhi Leonard isolate (good) or leave a wide-open shooter on the perimeter (also good). It’s a lose-lose situation.
Kawhi Leonard this season:
25.9 PPG
5.4 APG
5.2 RPG
1.8 SPG
0.6 BPG
50 FG%
41 3P%
91 FT%
Unreal efficiency, 50-40-90 club. 🔥 pic.twitter.com/zCINnl2qTk
— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) February 1, 2021
During this season, Kawhi Leonard is averaging a 50/40/90 efficiency line. The 50/40/90 barometer is used to gauge how good/efficient a shooter is, and Leonard is meeting those criteria. If he keeps up his efficiency, he will join an elite group of players in the 50/40/90 club that includes Larry Bird, Kevin Durant, and Stephen Curry. Kawhi Leonard is a three-level scorer who can create his shot from anywhere, with superb efficiency. Kawhi Leonard has become one of the best shooters in the league. Leonard’s all-around offensive prowess has helped the Los Angeles Clippers’ overall offense, as they are second in oRTG at 117.7 and they are 7th in points per game scored at 114.5. Kawhi Leonard is the motor to this Los Angeles offense, and they are feeding off of his dominance.
Kawhi Leonard Is Consistent
The key for any superstar is consistency. Anyone can win games, but you have to do it consistently, and your team has to win games. Kawhi Leonard has shown to be a superstar that can bring a team to wins, and not just put up personal statistics. It is a travesty that he hasn’t won the MVP award before, as he is probably the best two-way wing of our generation. The team success has been there, and so have the personal numbers. Part of the reason he didn’t win the MVP award in prior seasons was due to load management for an injury: Leonard used to sit back-to-back games last season with the Los Angeles Clippers last season, and with the Toronto Raptors prior to that. This year, however, that doesn’t seem to be the case.
Kawhi Leonard on playing back-to-backs: "I think I'll be playing pretty much.. The last few years I've been injured. It's been a long time, and I've been patient."
— Farbod Esnaashari (@Farbod_E) January 7, 2021
Kawhi Leonard playing almost every game has been good for the Los Angeles Clippers in many ways. You have to build chemistry every year, and Kawhi Leonard playing more games and being healthy certainly helps with that. But it has also shown in their position on the Western Conference standings, as the first seed with a 16-5 record. Seeing Leonard dominating when healthy is nothing new: we’ve all seen his heroics with Toronto in the playoffs during 2019. He can also dominate for stretches during the regular season, as we can see from a tweet by NBA Central:
Kawhi Leonard’s last 9 games:
28 PTS – 4 REB – 3 AST (W)
24 PTS – 4 REB – 3 AST (W)
34 PTS – 9 REB – 8 AST (W)
31 PTS – 8 REB – 2 AST (W)
32 PTS – 3 REB – 5 AST (W)
17 PTS – 7 REB – 5 AST (W)
27 PTS – 4 REB – 6 AST (W)
28 PTS – 6 REB – 9 AST (W)
35 PTS – 2 REB – 4 AST (W) pic.twitter.com/kceVizElAO
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) January 31, 2021
Even on nights where Kawhi Leonard doesn’t score as much, he can still contribute with his passing and his defense. Everything this year is coming up right for Kawhi Leonard: the Los Angeles Clippers have re-tooled to make a good roster around him, his co-star Paul George is playing well, and Leonard himself is finally healthy. This year for Kawhi Leonard has been all about consistency: he is doing what he is supposed to as a superstar. Kawhi Leonard knows what kind of player he is, and he finally gets to showcase it throughout a full season.
Will Kawhi Leonard Win MVP?
The answer to that question is complicated. Is Kawhi Leonard MVP caliber? Absolutely. Leonard deserves to be an MVP currently, based on his stats and team record alone. But there are players who have better personal numbers, despite playing on a team that is currently worse, like Kevin Durant. Kawhi Leonard’s defensive impact can sometimes get underrated in MVP discussions, as people have previously voted for someone who puts up staggering offensive numbers like James Harden or Giannis Antetokounmpo. Leonard doesn’t need to put up 40 or 50 points a game to make an impact, but that hurts him in terms of raw counting stats.
Current NBA MVP race leaders according to Basketball Reference:
#1. Nikola Jokic – 44.7%
#2. Joel Embiid – 18.8%
#3. Kawhi Leonard – 13.7% pic.twitter.com/lUHZzSlqdA
— . (@TheNBACentral) February 2, 2021
Despite some factors working against him, Kawhi Leonard does have a shot at winning the MVP award. He is currently third in Basketball-Reference’s MVP Award Tracker. He could easily go up if keeps playing at the same level, and leading the Los Angeles Clippers to wins, especially over the other people who are being considered for MVP. There are many factors to winning the MVP award: but based on prior criteria for MVP, Kawhi Leonard should be in the running, if not the clear favorite.
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