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Ranking the 75 best players in NBA history for 75th anniversary

By Josh Cornelissen

Kobe Bryant (Photo credit should read Vince Bucci/AFP via Getty Images)
Kobe Bryant (Photo credit should read Vince Bucci/AFP via Getty Images) /
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Kawhi Leonard, Toronto Raptors. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) /

Ranking the 75 best players in NBA history: No. 35 – Kawhi Leonard

Career: 2011 – present

Achievements: Two-time champion; All-NBA (5x); All-Star (5x); All-Defense (7x); Finals MVP (2x); Defensive Player of the Year (2x); led the league in steals (1x)

Very few players in league history have won a Finals MVP award with two different franchises. Leonard was drafted to be the bridge for Tim Duncan’s Spurs dynasty, and he filled that role admirably, stepping up as first a wing stopper and then a wing scorer to secure one last title for the Spurs. Then years later he forced a trade out of San Antonio and landed with the Toronto Raptors, winning a title immediately before walking in free agency.

Injuries have limited Leonard in a number of postseason runs, preventing his solid career accolades from reaching any higher. He is one of the few modern perimeter players to win Defensive Player of the Year, and he did it twice. His huge hands and lightning reflexes lead to steals where he effectively just rips the ball away from helpless ball-handlers.

Leonard’s career is still being written, although he is currently recovering from an ACL tear that will potentially cost him another full season of his prime. If Leonard can win another title with a third team in the LA Clippers, and win the likely Finals MVP, he will join LeBron James as the only player in history to do so with three separate franchises. Leonard may be an incredibly quiet superstar, but that resume would speak for itself.