The 2016-2017 NBA season was supposed to be Kawhi Leonard's year.
At age 25 and with Tim Duncan having retired at the conclusion of the previous season, Leonard represented the future of the Sam Antonio Spurs, Gregg Popovich's unquestioned leader with Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili now in their twilight. Leonard's wingman was all-star center Lamarcus Aldridge, and regular season averages of 25.5 points, 5.8 rebounds, 3.5 assists, and 1.8 steals on 49 percent shooting spoke to just how good Leonard was and would become.
As the saying goes, the sky was the limit.
Then came Game 1 of the 2017 Western Conference Finals. With eight minutes to go in the third quarter and the Spurs up 76-55 on the Curry-Thompson-Durant Golden State Warriors, Leonard received a pass from Aldridge on the left wing and dribbled left to create space for a jump shot. As Leonard elevated and came down, his left foot landed on the Warriors' Zaza Pachulia's right foot. Leonard, who had 26 points and 8 rebounds on 7 of 13 from the field, and was a percent 11 of 11 from the line, was in obvious pain.
He did not return, the Spurs lost Game 1 by two points, and went on to get swept 4-0, losing Games 2, 3, and 4 by 36, 12, and 14 points.
So, in what was supposed to be a coming out party of sorts for Leonard, ushering in a new era of Spurs basketball, turned into just nine games played the following season, and a July 2018 trade that sent him north of the border to Toronto. San Antonio was no more.
After leading the Raptors to the 2019 title (defeating the Warriors), Leonard decided in the summer of 2019 to head home, and signed a 3 year, $103 million deal with the Los Angeles Clippers, who also brought along Paul George to team with Leonard. The duo was supposed to lead the Clippers into a different era, one that resulted in consistent winning, maybe even a championship.
But, like San Antonio, that did not happen. At least it has not yet. The ensuing playoffs, in the bubble, brought a collapse from the Clippers, who lost a 3-1 lead to the Denver Nuggets in the Western Conference Semifinals. The following season, 2020-2021, the Clippers defeated the Dallas Mavericks in the first round in seven games, and led the Utah Jazz 105-88 in Game 4 of the conference semifinals. Again, came injury.
Driving in transition, Leonard bumped knees with the Jazz's Joe Ingles. Leonard did not return, missing the remainder of the playoffs as the Clippers, though they defeated the Jazz in six games, lost in six games to the Phoenix Suns in the conference finals. The injury was revealed to be a partial ACL tear of Leonard's right knee, and he missed the entire 2021-2022 season as a result.
Returning to action last season, Leonard played 52 games, starting 50, and averaged 23.8 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 3.9 assists on 51 percent shooting. But again, Leonard's season ended in injury.
In Game 1 of the Clippers' first round series against the Phoenix Suns, Leonard played 41 minutes, scoring 38 points and adding 5 rebounds and 5 assists on a scorching 13 of 24 from the field in the 115-110 Clipper victory. In Game 2, Leonard tallied 31 points, 8 rebounds, 7 assists, and 3 steals in 39 minutes on 11 of 20 shooting. In the game though, a 123-109 loss, Leonard suffered a torn miniscus in his right knee, ending his season once more.
This season, the Clippers have had high hopes once again, amplified by the trade Nov. 1 trade that brought 2018 MVP and 10-time all-star James Harden to Los Angeles. With four all-stars (Leonard, Harden, George, and Russell Westbrook), the Clippers seem to be unstoppable on paper, possessing an offensive talent collective that the game has maybe never seen.
The Clippers, though, got off to a rocky start. Harden made his team debut on Nov. 6 in a 111-97 loss at New York. The Clippers lost the ensuing four games, before winning three consecutive, and then alternated wins until Nov. 30, a six-point loss to the Warriors. Since, the team, which is 13-3 since Nov. 17, has found its groove, currently winners of eight straight games, a streak that has included three wins of 20-plus points (119-99 over the Sacramento Kings, 144-124 over the Knicks, and the most recent 151-127 onslaught, on Dec. 18, against the Indiana Pacers.
And, most refreshing for basketball fans, Leonard looks like his old self.
Over the stretch, the 32-year-old is averaging 29.3 points and 5.5 rebounds on a blistering 62 percent from the field. Leonard is scoring from all over the floor, from three-pointers, to his patented mid-range, to jump hooks in the lane. He has also been lights out from the free-throw line over the eight game stretch, going 39 of 41. Harden, not to be overlooked, has also played well as of late. Averaging 17.6 points and 7.1 assists for the season, he tallied 28 points, 15 assists, and 7 rebounds in the Clippers' 121-113 victory over the Warriors on Dec. 14. On Monday night against the Pacers, he had his best game of the season, making 12 of 16 field goal attempts, including eight three-point makes, and finishing with 35 points and 9 assists.
Leonard has been much maligned since leaving San Antonio, mainly considered to be the poster boy for load management, a new school term that is a complete juxtaposition to the 80-82 game gladiators of the past who considered it a badge of honor to play in as many games as they could (since 2018-2019, Leonard has played in 187 games, and last played over 70 games in 2016-2017).
Injuries notwithstanding though, Leonard is one of the best players in the association when he is fully healthy. He has the ability to score from the outside, the midrange, and the post, and can still look like one of the game's elite defenders in spurts. For as much criticism as Westbrook gets for the media-fan perception of him not being a winning player (he might be the most criticized player in the game, and maybe ever), and for as much criticism as Harden and George get for not being big time playoff performers, the Clippers' failure, or success, will fall on Leonard's shoulders. If the team does not succeed in the playoffs, he will be the guy that will fall on the sword.
Right now, though, it seems that Leonard is tired of the talk, of the doubters. Doubting him, doubting his team. That, or maybe he does not listen to it. Maybe he just minds his business and plays ball. Maybe he's getting comfortable now for the first time since last spring's injury. Maybe he's healthy. Maybe he's now locked in.
And that is a bad sign for the rest of the NBA.
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