LA Clippers: Kawhi Leonard is the team’s Weapon X

1. Defense

Leonard’s ultimate ability is his defense. They don’t call him the claw for no reason. Leonard can smother you on defense and it is the catalyst for his whole game. When he can lock you up then he can dictate the pace of the game and get easy buckets in transition.

He won the Defensive Player of the Year award back to back years in 2015 and 2016.  In 2015 Leonard was the steals champ, averaging 2.3 steals. In the past five years, only Victor Oladipo has averaged more in a season with 2.4 in 2018. He did not win Defensive Player of the Year though.

In 2016 Leonard averaged a block a game and 1.8 steals a game. His 21.2 points per game were the most points averaged by a Defensive Player of the Year since Dwight Howard in 2011.

He was getting it done on offense and defense. That year he established himself as a superior two-way talent.

Leonard is historically a good defender. In terms of all-time defensive rating, he is 31st. That is higher than players like Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Dennis Rodman, Shaquille O’ Neal, Draymond Green and LeBron James.

When Leonard came into the league defense was his best asset. He has taken his game to a whole new level now. He has still been able to maintain his defensive abilities while being the main offensive threat on a team.