Player #1: Kawhi Leonard – 51.2 / 41.6 / 87.1 shooting splits in 2022-2023
Now for the favorite to join the 50/40/90 club in 2023-2024: Kawhi Leonard. While he may no longer be a player who is ever eligible for major awards due to the 65-game minimum, the 50/40/90 club is something that will always be in play for Leonard.
To qualify, players only need to make at least 300 field goals, 82 three-pointers, and 125 free throws, so Leonard would only need to play about half a season to hit those totals. He is coming off of yet another injury and is entering his 32-year-old season, but has flirted with 50/40/90 in each of his last two “healthy” seasons.
In his career, Leonard has eclipsed 50% shooting from the field four times, surpassed 40% shooting from beyond the arc twice (including another season at 39.8%), and shot 88%+ from the FT line three times. In fact, in 2022–2023, he was just 2.9% from the FT line away from joining the club since both his FG% (51.2) and his 3FG% (41.6) met the marks. All reports point towards Leonard being ready for the start of the 2023–2024 season as well, so his status as a top-10 talent in the NBA should not be in question.
At 32, Kawhi would be the oldest player to make his first appearance on the 50/40/90 club; however, Steve Nash did have 50/40/90 seasons at ages 33, 34, and 35. Additionally, Kevin Durant just had another 50/40/90 season at age 34, so Leonard’s being 32 should not be a deterrent. Look for him to surprise people in the 2023–2024 season and potentially be just the 10th player to join the 50/40/90 club.