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San Antonio Spurs: Kawhi Leonard Making The Leap

By Gerald Bourguet

Oct 28, 2015; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; San Antonio Spurs forward Kawhi Leonard (2) dunks the ball against the Oklahoma City Thunder during the second quarter at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 28, 2015; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; San Antonio Spurs forward Kawhi Leonard (2) dunks the ball against the Oklahoma City Thunder during the second quarter at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports /
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Oct 20, 2015; San Antonio, TX, USA; San Antonio Spurs small forward Kawhi Leonard (2) warms up before the game against the Phoenix Suns at AT&T Center. Mandatory Credit: Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 20, 2015; San Antonio, TX, USA; San Antonio Spurs small forward Kawhi Leonard (2) warms up before the game against the Phoenix Suns at AT&T Center. Mandatory Credit: Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports /

The Raw Numbers

Four games is an admittedly small sample size, but coming off his most impressive playoff series yet, it’s safe to say that we’re seeing the Kawhi Leonard we’ve been waiting for. In that seven-game series against the Los Angeles Clippers, Leonard was the team’s unquestionable leader, averaging 20.3 points, 7.4 rebounds and 2.6 assists while posting .477/.423/.771 shooting splits.

So far in 2015-16, Leonard is averaging 21.3 points, 9.3 rebounds, 2.3 steals and 2.0 blocks per game on .486/.250/1.000 shooting splits. He’s taking a career high 18.0 field goal attempts per game, and though the blocks and free throw percentage will obviously come down as the season goes on, his three-point efficiency should go up as well.

Even in a Western Conference that’s loaded with superstar talent, those are All-Star numbers. For a Finals MVP and Defensive Player of the Year, no one should be surprised to see this 24-year-old break out, but it’s admittedly been nice to see Leonard put up the kind of superstar numbers we’ve been waiting for following a few stellar postseason performances.

Next: Defense

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