2. Leonard’s Leap
At 24 years old, Leonard is already the face of the post-Duncan Spurs, even with Aldridge on board. Coming off his most impressive playoff series yet, it was time for Leonard to string together the dominant regular season we’d been waiting for ever since he won Finals MVP. The defending Defensive Player of the Year hasn’t disappointed.
Averaging 21.8 points, 7.9 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 1.9 steals and 1.1 blocks per game, Leonard has emerged as the Spurs’ best player on BOTH ends of the floor. Not only can he lock down opponents with those giant claws he refers to as hands, but he’s a capable one-on-one scorer who’s shooting 51.5 percent from the floor and 46.6 percent from three-point range.
Pop, with two words on Kawhi that pretty much sum it up: "He's arrived."
— Jeff McDonald (@JMcDonald_SAEN) October 29, 2015
Per NBA.com, Leonard has posted a defensive field goal percentage of -5.8 percent — meaning that his opponents shoot 5.8 percent worse when defended by Kawhi than they normally would. The list of players he’s stifled this season includes Kevin Durant, Carmelo Anthony and pretty much every other player he’s defended so far.
Over the last decade, the Spurs have only had three players reach the 20 points per game threshold in a season: Tony Parker in 2012-13, Parker again in 2008-09 and Tim Duncan in 2006-07. That’s it. The Spurs loathe iso-ball, but it appears that Kawhi’s extensive skill set has given him a longer leash with Pop, and it may lead to Leonard being the fourth player to join that list.
For the Spurs, Kawhi taking the next step is not only key to challenging the Warriors’ reign in the West, but to moving past the Big Three era as well.
Next: No. 1