There seems to have been a sweeping agreement across the country that Steph Curry has passed Lebron James as the best basketball player in the game. While no arguments should and will be made against Curry and his dominance, the question in which could be at hand is now where does Kawhi Leonard stand against James? It was less than two years ago when the 22-year-old Leonard became a known player as the 2014 Finals MVP in a domination of the James led Heat. Now at 24, and with James at 30 it seems as though the two are even closer than the defense Leonard put on James in those 2014 Finals.
To start the case for Leonard is to say that he is the reigning defensive player of the year. He also was able to secure the honor while playing 64 games. Although James has made five all defensive NBA teams he has yet to win a defensive player of the year. Only Michael Jordan, Hakeem Olajuwon and Leonard can make the claim of defensive player of the year and Finals MVP on their resume.
This season, behind Leonard the Spurs are by far the best defensive team. They lead the league in points allowed, and have given up on average five less points a game than any other team. In terms of pace and efficiency the team is playing on a historical level. Leonard leads that charge as the league leader in steals/turnover ratio, and only Andre Drummond has more steals + blocks this season. Notable Leonard performances to date could include putting up 32 points on Kevin Durant while holding him to 6-19 from the field. He held Carmelo Anthony to 4-17 from the field in a double double performance, and most recently holding Paul George to 1-14. While James has no defensive player of the years, and Michael Jordan does have one, Leonard may be on the inside track to back-to-back awards.
While he has been recognized for his defense in years past, it is now the offense that makes him arguable with the likes of James and such. To compare shooting %s, Steph Curry is an 89% free throw shooter; Leonard is 88%, James at 72%. From the field, Curry is shooting 52%, Leonard is shooting, 51%, and James is shooting 50%. From three, Leonard is actually out shooting Curry 47% to 45% at the moment, and James is shooting a lowly 27% from behind the arc. While the three is not James’ greatest attribute, Leonard only has fifteen more attempts. Curry, shooting over 180 more threes to this point is in another category of his own, but to be on the similar pace of consistency with the greatest shooter of our time is a great season to have.
When we look at the NBA landscape, there is almost a revolution. As the Kobe Bryants’ of the world have all but retired, it is the new school, the Curry, Leonard, George group that is taking over. As mentioned now that James is at 30, it is fair to say he has a ceiling. at 24 Leonard seems to get better by the night. While the Cavs and the Spurs have not met this year, when looking MVP candidates such as Durant and George and how they fared with Leonard this year it is fair to question where this kid ranks. Is he the 2nd best player in the NBA? Some may say he needs to do it longer, but isn’t that what we said about Curry before that revelation hit us like a ton of bricks?
