Entering his fourth NBA season and fresh off of an inspirational NBA Finals MVP performance, Kawhi Leonard is etching his name higher and higher on the list of league’s elite talent. As seen by our own Shane Young, Leonard was ranked as the No. 4 overall small forward, behind only LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Carmelo Anthony. Not too bad of company, huh?
But is Leonard really worthy of such high praise, or is he stuck in a basketball purgatory, where he’s a step ahead of the majority of the pack but still failing to grab hold of the same production levels as the aforementioned superstars?
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Well, the answer to both questions would be yes.
After seeing the development Leonard has had, especially his emergence in last season’s playoffs, coupled with a blue collar humility, there’s no doubt he has earned every bit of praise he’s been given.
On the other hand, despite a steady increase in minutes (outside of a slight decrease last season), points, shooting percentages, attempts from the field, assists and rebounds, Leonard hasn’t really taking that massive leap in production that’s usually consistent with emerging stars.
For someone looking to take the reins of a championship caliber team and become the next perennial All-Star for the Spurs, 12.8 points on only 9.8 shots per game and only hitting 5.1 per game simply doesn’t show proof of a star player. Additionally, Leonard doesn’t really excel in getting to the charity stripe, as he only took 1.9 free throw attempts per game last season. That’s a lower average than one trip to the line per game. A superstar’s staple in the NBA is scoring and the free throw numbers are usually an indicative hint answer as to how aggressive a player is as a scorer.
Luckily for Leonard and the Spurs alike, the celebration for his breakout party in last season’s playoffs and NBA Finals dominance should begin once the pursuit for back-to-back championships begins. The Spurs’ big three of Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker is only getting older and injuries become a higher possibility with age.
Gregg Popovich is well known for resting his starters throughout the season and being a mastermind at understanding how to perfectly limit the minutes of his veterans. In their absence and decrease of responsibility in 2014-15, Leonard will have the perfect opportunity to become a go-to scoring option and focal point of the offense, which is necessary to becoming a superstar.
But how long should it take before Leonard actually can be deemed as a star in the same stratosphere as the guys we know to hold MVP awards, scoring titles and NBA championships? I think the 2015-16 season would be the safest bet. Leonard would firs have to learn how to become the star of a team and adjust to the responsibility that comes with it. But outside of adjusting to the learning curve and becoming more aggressive, all of the intangibles and talent is unquestionable there.
The ball is now literally in Leonard’s court as the world of basketball will be looking toward how he can follow up a Finals MVP performance and the fan base in San Antonio anxiously waits to see how great the future of their Spurs’ can be.
He’s not there yet, but it surely won’t take long. It’s time to jump on the bandwagon while plenty of seats are still available.