2014 Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard is having his best season as a pro, averaging 25.5 points, 5.7 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game so far in this young 2016-17 season. As his role steadily increased in each of his six seasons with the San Antonio Spurs, so has his production, but is he the fourth-best player in the entire NBA? ESPN thinks so, putting the two-way player just behind Golden State Warriors teammates Kevin Durant, Stephen Curry and the Cleveland Cavaliers' LeBron James in their sixth annual NBA ranking of the top 200 players in the league.
Some notable players behind Leonard in the ranking include Russell Westbrook (5th), Anthony Davis (6th), James Harden (8th) and Damian Lillard (10th). According to ESPN, their panel of voters had to consider both the quality and quantity of each player’s contributions to his team’s ability to win games.
This year, Leonard has taken an increased role as a playmaker, and comes off various points of the Spurs attack—pick and rolls, pin-downs and iso’s—he features in all of them. He has maintained his defensive prowess while doing so, has worked on getting to the line consistently, and has emerged as the clear leader of the perennial Western Conference contender.
As is the common practice, ESPN’s #NBArank serves as nothing more than fodder for fan debate. Just this year, Harden (30.3 points, 7.9 rebounds and 12.6 assists per game) has claimed to be the best player in the league, Draymond Green said he’s “one of the best,” and Westbrook (32 points, 9.7 rebounds, 9.9 assists per game) has been nothing short of unstoppable so far this year.
It’s early in the season, and this debate will more than likely be settled when May comes around. But for now, Leonard has found himself among the league’s elite in just six short and quite years.
