Kawhi Leonard is an NBA star who presently represents the Los Angeles Clippers. He formerly played for the Toronto Raptors and the San Antonio Spurs. Metta World Peace and Gerald Wallace have noticed him on several occasions.
Kishele Shipley, a Los Angeles native, has been his partner for years, and the two are already parents.
Stats are vital in determining an NBA player’s historical standing in the general hierarchy, as they are in any barbershop dispute.
The numbers are so overwhelming for athletes like Michael Jordan and LeBron James that there is little room for debate. Both are indisputably so far along in their careers than any other comparison pales in contrast.
Career as an NBA player
Kawhi Leonard has played for the Spurs, Clippers, and Raptors throughout his ten-year NBA career. In 576 regular-season games, he averaged 19.2 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 2.9 assists. He was selected to participate in five All-Star games. He has two NBA championships, two Defensive Player of the Year accolades, and two Finals MVP awards.
Although he’s spent the last five seasons, Kawhi Leonard’s experience is slightly different.
The soon-to-be 30-year-old great forward’s stats database is relatively small.
I am a two-time NBA champion averaging just under 26 points per game.
Through April 28th, Leonard sits on 10,976 career points and 3,659 rebounds. Those numbers are far from evil for the average NBA career, but for someone of his caliber, now playing in NBA season number 10, they’re… underwhelming. Putting his career in context makes it easy to see how this all fits together.
Leonard began his career as a defensive-minded winger
He was scoring less than 15 points per game until his fourth season. Shortly after increasing his offensive game, he sustained a quad injury, which finally led to an NBA evolution of load management, albeit indirectly.
In another way, Leonard hasn’t played enough games changes significantly improved his offensive volume and averages.
Reality, on the other hand, provides a different viewpoint.
Point of view of James harden on Leonard player’s history
Future NBA fans will notice a significant difference between Leonard’s career records and those of, say, James Harden when they look back on the blooming 2020s of basketball in 30 to 40 years.
However, getting a snapshot of the present is often impossible because context loses impact with time.
So, when barbershops debate the merits of Leonard and Harden in the 2060s, what’s the principle of their decision?
Stats.
Harden easily wins that debate when viewed through this lens. Let’s not get started on Russell Westbrook’s seasons of triple-doubles.
The question arises of how vital career stats should be. Especially when it comes to Leonard?
It would be unrealistic to expect Leonard to go on a five-year tear that allows him to catch up to Harden, and it would also be out of character for him to care about such a ridiculous goal.
However, in a league where players are becoming increasingly heliocentric with each passing season, Leonard, as well as Draymond Green, stand out as potential long-term casualties of a stats-driven narrative.
The conclusion states that.
Leonard has accomplished a great deal in the last half-decade. While he doesn’t consistently post triple-doubles, you can count on him to average 25 points, six rebounds, exceptional defense, and one of the lowest turnover rates in the NBA for a high-usage player.
(Limiting turnovers isn’t a glamorous statistic, but Leonard has a career TOV percent of 9.1, which is absurd.) Despite increasing his ballhandling responsibilities over the last three years, he’s still only at 9.2%, which is incredible.)
Leonard has not had a PER below 25 in any of his previous six seasons, and he has a TS percent of 60.7 throughout that time, both of which are top figures.
We may have to admit that Leonard’s raw numbers do not do him justice. His career may be memorable as best lived in the present.