Kawhi Leonard established himself as one of the best players in the NBA during his time with the San Antonio Spurs, and despite being hampered by injuries for the last 5 seasons, he remains one of the most feared players in the league. Kawhi initially was just a defensive stopper, but he worked on his offensive game and is now regarded as one of the best two-way players that the league has to offer.
It was his efforts on the defensive end that helped the Spurs win the title in 2014, which netted him his first Finals MVP, and 5 years later, in 2019, he averaged 28.5 points per game for the Raptors against Golden State to win his second Finals MVP. For all this success, however, Kawhi has never won the MVP award, and it turns out he is the only player in the history of the league who hasn’t won an MVP despite winning multiple Finals MVPs.
Players with multiple Finals MVPs and 0 regular season MVPs:
— Kawhi Leonard
What’re the odds that changes this season? pic.twitter.com/M4K73QPAUY
— StatMuse (@statmuse) August 28, 2022
He has never particularly gotten close to winning the award either, with his best being a third-place finish in 2017. He only got 9 first-place votes, though, and Russell Westbrook, who won the award that year, had 69, so it wasn’t really close. Leonard has finished in the top 10 a couple of times to go with this, but again, he was never really in contention.
With the way it’s going, you wouldn’t fancy Kawhi winning the award at any point from here on out, either. He misses too many games in the regular season for whatever reason, as his focus has always been on the playoffs, something that is not going to change as he gets up there in age. He is also returning from a long injury layoff this season but does look to be in great shape, which is a positive.
His return is the main reason why the Clippers are seen as a big threat in the Western Conference, with Tim Bontemps stating that they are clearly the best team in the West if everyone is healthy. The problem is that health has always been a concern, and you don’t get healthier as you age. The Clippers have also, for one reason or another, failed to live up to expectations since Leonard arrived despite having some talented rosters. That is why it is hard to put your complete faith in them just yet, no matter how good the team seems on paper.
