Kawhi Leonard, Jonathan Isaac top first NBA Defensive Player of the Year ladder

Kawhi Leonard, in his first season with the LA Clippers, is a two-time Defensive Player of the Year winner and has been named All-Defensive in five of his first eight NBA seasons.

For Leonard, the question at this point in his career is whether he will be on the floor enough to gain the support of the voters in the DPOY balloting. Leonard has already missed seven of the Clippers’ first 27 games this season after sitting out 22 a season ago with the Toronto Raptors.

Leonard is averaging 6.8 defensive rebounds, 1.8 steals and 0.7 blocks in 31.5 minutes per game, while committing 2.1 fouls a night, so he’s both effective and usually not in foul difficulty.

Classified as a forward by Cleaning the Glass, Leonard is in the 91st percentile at his position with a 2.3 percent steal rate and in the 99th percentile with his 18.1 percent rate on the defensive glass. His 1.2 percent block rate is in the 85st percentile at his position and the 1.8 foul rate checks in at the 99th percentile.

In the restricted area, Leonard allows 64.7 percent shooting on 16.0 attempts per game, while his presence makes a significant difference for the Clippers. The club plays at a 97.7 defensive rating with Leonard on the floor, spiking up to 106.7 when he’s not in the game.