National Basketball Association

San Antonio Spurs: Kawhi Leonard Is Indeed An MVP Candidate

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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After their season opening blowout of the Golden State Warriors, it’s pretty evident that San Antonio Spurs forward Kawhi Leonard is an NBA MVP candidate

Soft-spoken, gym rat, leads by example, and flat out does his job. That is Kawhi Leonard.

In the San Antonio Spurs season-opening win over the Golden State Warriors, Kawhi had 35 points, five rebounds, three assists, five steals, shot 47.6 percent from the field, and made all 15 of his free throws.

All the hype was on the Warriors side, but that hype was completely erased after the Spurs won 129-100 at Oracle.

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LeBron James, Russell Westbrook, James Harden, Kevin Durant, Steph Curry, and even Chris Paul are all names that have been thrown around in the NBA MVP conversation. The two-time reigning defensive player of the year gets some love, but not nearly as much as he deserves.

Perhaps it is because he is so quiet. After LeBron James, I believe Kawhi is the best two-way player in the game. He does it all, and is a stat sheet stuffer. He never complains and always goes out every night and does his job. He produces on the offensive end, and usually has the assignment of defending the opposing team’s best player.

[via RealGM]

Pop on Kawhi:

He basically tells me what he wants to do now,” Popovich said of Leonard. “He’ll take the ball. He’ll send the screener away. He’ll decide if he wants to go one-on-one with no screen, no pick. He is much more demonstrative, looks for his shots more. He knows he has a green light. I think that’s the difference. He’s making 3s or he’s driving it. Now he’s finding people on the court. While people are giving him attention, he’s finding people like Patty Mills for wide-open shots. He’s a tough cover. He’s really just more confident, more aggressive, more hungry to score than in the past.”

Although it is only one game, Kawhi continued his success from last season and showed us why he is a top five player in the NBA. With Tim Duncan no longer a part of the organization, Kawhi is determined to keep the Spurs winning culture and tradition alive.

He is the ultimate teammate and he wants to do whatever it takes to win. I look for Kawhi to be in the hunt for the MVP award this season.

You won’t hear much out of him, but his production will blow you away.

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