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Following his 24 seconds of pure dominance to close out the Houston Rockets, Kawhi Leonard has officially entered the MVP conversation.
The NBA was put on notice as the 25-year-old exploded for 39 points, six rebounds and five assists in the 112-110 victory.
A clutch three, followed by a block on James Harden prompted many critics to ask why Leonard hasn’t been in MVP talks for longer.
Much like the Spurs in general, the 6’7” forward has been flying under the radar for the majority of the season, averaging 26.3 points per game, along with six rebounds.
But it’s his ability to have an impact at both ends of the court that’s thrown the MVP race into a tailspin.
Leonard has been consistently called on to defend the opposition’s best player and more often than not risen to the occasion.
He averages 1.9 steals per game, good for fifth in the NBA, but it’s Leonard’s overall impact on the game that has critics turning heads.
This season, Leonard sits in the top ten in three-point field goal percentage, free throw percentage, points, steals, player efficiency rating, defensive rating, offensive and defensive win shares, win shares per 48 minutes and finally plus-minus totals.
That’s an awfully long list.
And teammate Pau Gasol is certainly backing Leonard to take home the NBA’s most illustrious award.
“I hope [the voters] understand. I hope they see. It’s not hard to see if you really watch. I think he’s very much deserving of getting the MVP this season,” Gasol said on NBA.com.
“The way he’s playing, the way he’s contributing on both ends of the floor. He’s not the guy that just puts up 30 points and that’s it. He makes huge plays defensively. So, to me, he’s my MVP.”
The other two frontrunners for the award are offensive powerhouses James Harden and Russell Westbrook.
Harden has been fantastic for the Rockets all season, putting up 15 triple-doubles and leading the league in assists with 11.3 per game. But for all of his offensive heroics, Harden still doesn’t put in enough effort on the defensive end.
Westbrook, on the other hand, was the favourite to win MVP heading into the season, and he’s tallied an outrageous 30 triple-doubles so far, but the Oklahoma City Thunder are still seventh in the Western Conference.
Traditionally, the award has been given to a player whose team has one of the better records in the league, so giving it to Westbrook would set a new precedent.
Either way, Spurs coach Gregg Popovich isn’t paying any attention to the chatter:
“We don’t talk about MVP awards. We don’t talk about any awards. We don’t talk about championships. We just play the game. Everybody tries to do what they can to make the team better and whatever records or awards or wins that come, that’s the way it is.”
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