NBA Player Power Rankings: Stars Getting Hot at Perfect Time

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Mar 17, 2016; San Antonio, TX, USA; San Antonio Spurs small forward Kawhi Leonard (2) reacts after a shot against the Portland Trail Blazers during the second half at AT&T Center. Mandatory Credit: Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports /

5. Kawhi Leonard, San Antonio Spurs

Last Rank: No. 5

Position: Small Forward

Age: 24

Slash Line: .509/.462/.880

Season Averages: 32.8 MPG, 21.0 PPG, 6.8 RPG, 2.5 APG, 1.8 SPG, 0.9 BPG, 1.9 3PM

The San Antonio Spurs are back in the championship discussion after defeating the one team they couldn’t overcome: the Golden State Warriors. The Spurs beat a short-handed Warriors squad, much as Golden State beat a short-handed San Antonio team.

Nevertheless, the fact that San Antonio defeated Golden State has resurrected the belief that the NBA championship has not yet been won.

At the heart of the Spurs’ championship aspirations is the man who won Finals MVP when San Antonio struck gold in 2014: Kawhi Leonard. Not only is Leonard in an entirely different stratosphere from his peers defensively, but he’s become the focal point in Gregg Popovich’s offense.

Whether he’s attempting 10 shots or 20, Leonard’s touches dictate the pace and direction of the offense on a possession-by-possession basis.

Leonard is averaging a career-best 21.0 points per game on a slash line that doesn’t make sense: .509/.462/.880. He’s already made more than 120 3-point field goals at that clip of 46.2 percent, and is attempting more than 15 field goals per game to build his mark of 50.9 percent from the floor.

Leonard is no longer a system player offensively; he’s become the system.

Next: He's Back