Kawhi Leonard and Kevin Durant will meet yet again in the postseason, but this time both stars will be healthy. The LA Clippers and Phoenix Suns will tip off the first round of their 2023 NBA playoff series on Sunday, and it's expected to be one of the most fun first round series.
Since Kawhi Leonard entered the league in 2012, Leonard and Durant have played against each other 34 total times. The two have had their battles, with each taking turns reaching the mountaintop that is the NBA Championships. After having his postseason cut short in 2021 due to a torn ACL suffered vs. Joe Ingles and the Utah Jazz, Leonard is excited to return to the playoffs to face Durant.
“I mean, he's a great player,” Kawhi Leonard said of Kevin Durant. “These are the fun parts of it. Just going out there, getting to compete against a guy like him that's been doing it year after year. Yeah, everybody is going to have to take the challenge, not just me. It is a team sport.”
Kawhi Leonard on facing Kevin Durant:
"He's a great player. These are the fun parts of it, just going out there and competing against a guy like him that's been doing it year after year. Everybody's gonna have to take the challenge."
— Tomer Azarly (@TomerAzarly) April 14, 2023
In 47 games this season, Durant is shooting an absurd 56 percent from the field, 40.4 percent from three, and 92 percent from the free throw line. In just eight games since joining the Suns, he's averaging 26 points, 6.4 rebounds, 3.5 assists, and 1.3 blocks per game on 57 percent from the field and 53.7 percent from three.
Kawhi Leonard and Kevin Durant have been among the league's best mid-range jump shooters despite that being a shot defenses have started allowing because of the analytical side of the game.
Here's how the two stars shoot from the mid-range compared to the rest of the league.
“Him making the shots, that's what it's about,” Leonard said of Durant‘s mid-range mastery. “How he gets to his spots, shooting over guys, [both] hands throughout his whole career, and it's very impressive. Like I said, year after year, he's doing it, and he's doing it at a high percentage. Yeah, both ways, left, right, shooting over everybody.”
Kawhi Leonard on Kevin Durant's game:
"Him making shots. That's what it's about. How he gets to his spots. Shooting over guys… Throughout his whole career. It's very impressive. Year after year he's doing it, and he's doing it at a high percentage."pic.twitter.com/VQPAhZjEaW
— Tomer Azarly (@TomerAzarly) April 14, 2023
On the other end, the Suns star affirmed that he's well aware of what Leonard brings to the Clippers at a recent practice.
“It's funny, I played against Kawhi when he was young coming into the league and he didn't have this role that he has now — a superstar,” Durant said, via Suns beat reporter Duane Rankin of AZ Central. “So I just seen his development over time, it's been cool to watch. (He's) tough to play against but it's cool to watch. He's somebody who brings it every time he steps on the floor, so he ups the level of everybody around him.”
"I played against Kawhi when he was young coming into the league and he didn't have this role that he has now."
Kevin Durant on facing Kawhi Leonard in the #NBAPlayoffs . #Suns #ClipperNation pic.twitter.com/opSaltX5Pf
— Duane Rankin (@DuaneRankin) April 13, 2023
The Suns enter the NBA playoffs as favorites over the LA Clippers, but this season has been the season of unpredictability, top to bottom.
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