Kawhi Leonard Cemented His Status As An MVP Candidate During This Crazy Game-Winning Sequence

The NBA MVP race has largely revolved around three players: James Harden, LeBron James, and Russell Westbrook. This isn’t stunning considering Harden and Westbrook do everything for their teams while James is the best two-way player on earth.

But hey, everyone, we really need to start including Kawhi Leonard in any and all MVP discussions. After beating Houston on Monday night, 112-110, the Spurs’ record climbed to 49-13 on the year. They’re 2.5 games behind the Warriors for the best record in the NBA. In the win against the Rockets, Leonard had 39 points, six rebounds, five assists, two blocks, and a steal. Those 39 points came on 12-for-18 shooting (4-for-5 from three) and an 11-for-11 effort at the free throw line.

Late in the game, the Spurs were down 108-107. The ball was put into Leonard’s hands. The following sequence unfolded.

And here it is from another angle:

Mother of God. He hit a pull up three off the bounce without much space, turned around, and flat out denied a Harden attempt in the most emphatic way possible. After the game, he was pulled aside for a random drug test. It was almost certainly scheduled before the game, but it is far funnier to assume that the league was so flabbergasted by his performance that they assumed something was awry.

This performance was an MVP-caliber performance. That sequence was an MVP-caliber sequence. Leonard is an MVP-caliber basketball player. He’s averaging 26.3 points per game this year. If he keeps this up, this will be a record of sorts for the Spurs.

Leonard’s progression from solid rookie to key cog in the Spurs’ machine to full-on star has been awesome. Maybe he won’t be the MVP this year, but he definitely deserves to be in the conversation.