Kawhi Leonard is one of basketball’s biggest mysteries. It’s not that he just vanished or had a ridiculous rise, it’s more. Defenders still haven’t figured him out after almost 15 years of playing against him. He has not only gotten better with age but he has also done stuff that no one else could ever even try to accomplish.
He was drafted 15th overall in the 2011 draft by the Indiana Pacers before being traded to the Spurs before he played with the Pacers. He was traded for George Hill. This deal turned out to be terrible for the Pacers because they lost out on one of the greatest forwards of this generation. Kawhi went on to win all rookie first team.
He continued his rise and in his third year he beat LeBron in the finals and won finals MVP, establishing him as a star. Now that people knew he could defend LeBron they knew he was something special, though his stats didn’t show it yet, he was a budding star. Besides his steal numbers, his numbers would say he was a role player, which he was at the time, but he would take a jump that next season.
In the next 3 years Kawhi would take an awesome leap, after winning the title he would go on to win two DPOYs, cementing him as one of the best defenders in the league, he would make 3 all defensive first teams, once again helping that case, and he would make two all NBA first teams, making him the true star of the show. He nearly doubled his points per game average from the title year, that year he averaged 12.8, in his 6th year he averaged 25.5. He was one of the best in the world.
That’s when things went downhill. In his last year with the Spurs he would have a lingering injury. One that would ruin his relationship with the Spurs and cause him to be traded later on. He would only play 9 games that next year and his point per game average fell by almost 10 points. His assists and rebounds fell too, he was not the same guy. That allowed him to get traded to the Raptors.
On July 18th, 2018, the sports world was shocked. Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green were traded to the Raptors for DeMar DeRozan, Jakob Poetl, and a protected 2019 first round pick. DeRozan would have a couple of successful years as the main man in San Antonio before going to Chicago and going downhill from there. Poetl would find himself back in Toronto a few seasons after the trade to San Antonio. That draft pick turned into Keldon Johnson. So despite losing their two biggest pieces of the trade the Spurs came out with something.
Kawhi would come back as a completely new man in Toronto, he was something no one expected. He brought his stats from 16-5-2 all the way up to 27-7-3 and lead the Raptors to a very successful season with their core including future studs like Fred VanVleet, Norman Powell, Pascal Siakam, and OG Anunoby. They were built for a run, and that’s what they did. They would make it to the finals to be matched up against the Warriors, a team who Kawhi couldn’t seem to beat when he was in San Antonio. Despite that he would end up winning and he would get his second finals MVP.
That offseason he would be a free agent, he would end up signing with the Clippers, which caused some of the biggest controversy in the league and Kawhi’s downfall as a player. He joined the team because Paul George was there and they believed they could win a ring there, they couldn’t even make the finals. Injuries destroyed that team. Kawhi missed 181 games in his first 5 years with the Clippers, Paul George missed 147 games, they couldn’t stay on the floor together, that fried them.
Even in the last year of the PG and Kawhi duo they couldn’t win, they added James Harden to the mix and Ivica Zubac and Norman Powell had breakout years. Despite PG and Kawhi combining for only 22 missed games, they still couldn’t make a run, that lead to Paul George leaving in free agency and Kawhi being the main man by himself again.
The first year without Paul George was rough, he missed 45 games and the Clippers were the Clippers. Norman Powell and Ivica Zubac took another step up but it wasn’t enough to make a run, Kawhi needed to stay healthy and have consistent help or he would be done. Last year he played 65 games, despite finally being healthy and enjoying one of his best years since Toronto, the Clippers would still sink and have another big loss when it mattered most.
But earlier that year they had an issue. The NBA found evidence of Kawhi and Steve Ballmer circumventing the cap by paying Kawhi through a company called Aspiration. With that, the NBA had eyes on the Clippers and the investigation is still underway. The Clippers panicked, knowing this was an issue, and decided to trade Kawhi, he was sent back to Toronto for Brandon Ingram, Gradey Dick, and 5 picks. That trade however might not be held up due to the investigation and whether or not there will be a punishment.
Kawhi Leonard remains to be one of the biggest mysteries in basketball. From his elite gameplay that seems to be improving with age, to the scandals surrounding him and his team, he is one of the most interesting players the NBA has ever seen.
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