Kawhi Leonard Remains A Throwback, And It’s Spurstastic

The 25-year-old small forward for the San Antonio Spurs famously drives his car from high school, obsesses over chicken wing coupons, and maintains his cornrows in 2017. It seems the only thing that’s changed about Kawhi Leonard is his game, climbing higher into the stratosphere by the day.

The San Antonio Spurs are fresh off one of their biggest wins of the season, a 118-115 overtime thriller against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Jan, 21. In that game, Kawhi Leonard and LeBron James faced off in what Jeff Van Gundy described as a “small forward nirvana.”

In the game, reigning NBA champion, Finals MVP and smiter of mortals LeBron James sent the game into overtime with a bomb from about 32 feet, and turned in a line of 29 points, seven assists, six rebounds and seven turnovers in over 45 minutes of play. Leonard topped that with 41 points, six rebounds, five assists, six turnovers and the win in just under 46 minutes.

Both are the heartbeat, nerve center and any other anatomical centerpiece you’d like to make of their respective teams. More often than not, their teams go as they do, and are reflections of their superstars’ respective personas.

If you want to know how LeBron James feels about playing against Kawhi Leonard, it is captured in this brief clip from the 2013 NBA Finals, before Leonard spread his full 7-foot-3 wingspan worth of game in the league.

Despite all of LeBron’s beefs over the years, no one else has caused that reaction from “The King,” at least on camera.

Leonard continues to improve his all-around game every season, morphing into the premier two-way wing in the NBA.

His wingspan, 11.5 percent larger than his overall height (highest among last year’s All-Stars) and hand size, measured at 11.25 inches, just a quarter inch less than Wilt Chamberlain’s, give him the physical tools to be the basketball-swallowing black hole he’s become defensively.

When teams throw anything less than a fastball across the court, it’s likely to be caught in mid-flight by one of Leonard’s mitts.

He’s a fantastic defender on-ball as well, routinely guarding the best wing player the opposing team has each night. He uses his outstanding instincts to pick and choose when to attack without fouling, averaging only 1.6 fouls per game this season despite routinely guarding top scorers.

Matt Moore for CBS Sports penned an outstanding article earlier this season covering the Spurs’ odd defensive struggles this season with Leonard on the floor, surmising that “The Claw” is so good that teams basically play 4-on-4, not allowing Leonard to cover up for his teammates’ mistakes by stationing his man in the weak side corner.

Those numbers have largely continued to hold up this season, with the Spurs being +10.3 in defensive rating with Leonard off the court, as opposed to when he’s on.

Granted there’s plenty of noise in those numbers, with Leonard obviously being on the court for opposing team’s best lineups. But players are shooting 44.6 percent against Leonard’s contests this season, up 5.4 percent from last season’s numbers when Leonard contested a shot.

Aside from the head-scratching defensive numbers, Leonard is having a career year, improving on last season’s breakout campaign. His averages stand at 25.5 points, 5.7 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 1.8 steals and 0.7 blocks per game. His shooting percentages stand at .490/.413/.912, meaning that he’s on pace to join Larry Bird, Kevin Durant and Dirk Nowitzki as the only forwards to gain membership into the 50-40-90 club.

He’s maintained that efficiency with a 30.4 percent usage rate, making him the first Poppovich player to finish the season with a 30 percent usage rate if he continues this pace.

Kawhi has been outstanding out of the pick and roll, with nearly a quarter of his possessions coming from there as he’s created 1.03 points per possession, good for the 92nd percentile in the association, per NBA.com. His old school game of pull-ups and herky jerky stop-and-go style spells death when defenders are caught flat-footed.

He’s also become a tremendous catch-and-shoot player, with a 63.1 effective field goal percentage this season, up nearly 10 percentage points since 2014-15. His vast improvement has him in the 97th percentile on spot up possessions this season, according to NBA.com.

Often times you’ll find the Spurs running a quick down screen or hand off early in the possession for Leonard that opposing teams go under, inviting him to rise up over the defense.

Leonard also has built a stout post up game, going to it more and more as he becomes more polished. His ability to turn over either shoulder and use his length to create space has proven invaluable for the Spurs’ offense, as he ranks in the 87th percentile in post up points per possession, per NBA.com.

Leonard seems to be left on the outside looking in of the “best small forward” conversation this season, and that has more to do with LeBron James and Kevin Durant than him.

That is, until Leonard and the Spurs face off against the league’s best. The Spurs are 2-0 against the Cavs and Golden State Warriors this season, with Leonard owning averages of 38.0 points, 5.5 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 3.0 steals per game against his top competition in James and Durant.

Next: 2016-17 NBA Power Rankings: Week 14

Both games were nationally televised and started a firestorm of “Kawhi Leonard is really good!” chatter among NBA fans, before fading off into the distance. It seems that Leonard prefers it that way, as he and the Spurs keep winning through wonky defensive metrics and aging pillars of the franchise.