Kawhi Leonard no longer leads the league in three-point field goal percentage. He was also 1-of-6 against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Saturday night, and a poor — for him — 10-fore-24 from the field overall. But his Spurs held firm despite trailing at halftime and Klaw was the biggest reason why.
He knocked down four shots in the final session for nine of his team-high 26 points on the night. There’s a reason he’s routinely finishing second to Steph in our MVP rankings. All of these are offensive highlights, but this rebound where he tapped it to himself and corralled it as he fell down, while keeping his dribble to avoid traveling to initiate the mini break was special and will only count as a rebound in the box score.
But his mid-range game is approaching the best in the game, and you can’t just hang an extra step off him to prevent the drive. He’s too accurate.
But he’s making shots — three-pointers even — off the dribble, too, a characteristic Steph has foisted on every premier wing in the NBA. Kawhi is already elite, in that respect, though he lacks Steph’s supernatural wonder.
Here, he shakes Andre Roberson pretty bad — no big deal, just the best perimeter defender on OKC — before stroking his only three-pointer of the night.
You know how this aging hoop aphorism goes. KD with the reach, Kawhi will teach.
And this didn’t come down the stretch, but Leonard’s dunk on Singler has to be mentioned.
As does this little step-back, again coming against Roberson. Andre stays right on Kawhi’s hip as he comes around the Duncan screen, and he blocks any possible pocket pass as Duncan opens up his body with the pivot.
But Leonard uses his off hand to keep Roberson off him and uses a quick step back to create enough room for the jumper.
Beautiful.
It’s been official for some time, but Kawhi Leonard is now in the ever-revolving discussion for best in the NBA. He’s 24.
