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Just a year removed from an injury that suddenly called his playing future into question, Kawhi Leonard has re-staked his claim as one of the league's top players – and in the playoffs, made a convincing case as the best player in the world. While the performance of the Toronto Raptors superstar has surprised some league followers, Steve Kerr certainly doesn't seem shocked that Leonard is playing at such a high level.
On Wednesday, barely more than 24 hours before tipoff of the NBA Finals, the Golden State Warriors coach described how Leonard has grown as a player over the past several seasons.
“In terms of how Kawhi has grown…I don't know, he was Finals MVP in 2014, so five years later he's probably a little bit older and wiser. He's definitely older. I think he's wiser, I think he's seen more,” Kerr said, per NBA on TNT.
“As you get older in your career, especially as a great player like he is, you see more and more coverages, you see how different people play you. He's probably a little more rounded as a player, more aware of how teams are trying to play him. But no matter how you slice it he's been a superstar in this league, one of the top few players in the game for five, six years now.
Leonard is averaging 31.2 points, 8.8 rebounds, 3.8 assists, and 1.6 steals per game in the postseason, with an elite true shooting percentage of 62.3. Perhaps his most valuable contribution in Toronto's hard-fought victory over the Milwaukee Bucks in the Eastern Conference Finals, though, came on the other side of the ball, when Leonard shifted onto Giannis Antetokounmpo in Game 3, helping propel the Raptors to four straight victories.
Game 1 of the Finals is on Thursday night from Scotiabank Arena.
