Kawhi Leonard Stats: Spurs' Star Ranks Among NBA's Best Players Amid Trade Rumors

With the news of his trade demand, Kawhi Leonard has become the most-coveted NBA player that isn’t about to hit free agency. Teams around the league are expected to make offers to the San Antonio Spurs as they try to pry away one of the league’s few true superstars.

There’s already been plenty of speculation regarding what it might take to land Leonard.

When it comes to the Los Angeles Lakers, at least two-thirds of the Lonzo Ball/Brandon Ingram/Kyle Kuzma trio would likely have to be included in any deal. Most suggested proposals for the Boston Celtics center around Jaylen Brown and next year’s top-one protected Sacramento Kings’ first-round pick. The Los Angeles Clippers can offer Tobias Harris and the No.12 and No.13 picks in this year’s draft. If the Philadelphia 76ers get in on the bidding, it’s been suggested that they could offer this year’s No.10 overall pick, Markelle Fultz, Dario Saric and perhaps another asset.

Are any of those offers close to fair value for Leonard? Because of the leg injury that kept Leonard out of all but nine games in the 2017-2018 NBA season, as well as all the drama that came along with the ailment, it’s easy to forget just how valuable the forward was when healthy.

Leonard, who turns 27 years old on June 29, was third in MVP voting for the 2016-2017 NBA season. He posted career-highs of 25.5 points and 3.5 assists per game to go along with averages of 5.8 rebounds and 1.8 steals. Leonard led the Spurs to 61 wins and a trip to the Western Conference Finals. San Antonio went 47-35 with only one postseason win this past year.

Leonard was particularly special in last year’s playoffs, causing Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich to dub him the league’s best player. He averaged 27.7 points on 16.8 shot attempts in 12 playoff games with 7.8 rebounds and 4.6 assists per contest. San Antonio had a 22-point lead over the Golden State Warriors in Game 1 of the conference finals before an ankle injury ended Leonard’s season.

It wouldn’t have been surprising to see Leonard improve even more if he was on the court last season, considering the way his career had gone up to that point. The former No.15 overall draft pick had gotten better every year, racking up several accolades along the way.

After Leonard won the 2014 NBA Finals Award, he was named the NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year for two consecutive seasons—he finished third in the voting in 2017. Leonard was named to the All-NBA First-Team in both 2016 and 2017. He was second and third in MVP voting in those seasons, respectively.

LeBron James erased any doubt that he might be the NBA’s best player with his remarkable 2018 postseason run. It wasn’t simply a LeBron James vs. Kevin Durant debate that was being had last year. Leonard’s name was also starting to be mentioned in the conversation.

Player rankings are subjective, but only up to a point. When Leonard is healthy, he’s a bonafide top-five superstar.

James and Durant have firmly established themselves as No.1 and No.2 on any list. Stephen Curry’s impact on the game makes him a top-five player. Anthony Davis might have to be included in the group, as well, considering the dominant season he had on both sides of the ball in 2017-2018.

The same goes for Leonard, who nearly led his team to a road playoff victory over the greatest collection of NBA talent ever assembled the last time he was truly healthy. He’s the best defender at his position and has been for the last few years. Leonard joined the league's elite class of players by becoming a top-10 scorer, doing so with impressive efficiency.

Trading for Leonard comes with risks because of the questions regarding his leg injury and his plans in 2019 free agency, but a team that has a healthy Leonard next season will boast the best player on the court almost every night.