Kawhi Leonard is set to return this season after missing nearly 500 days of basketball due to an ACL injury he suffered in June 2021.
Leonard sat out the entire 2021-22 season, and without him, the LA Clippers could only get as far as the play-in tournament. They were, surprisingly, the better of the two teams in LA, but not by much.
With the new season only a few weeks away, Kendrick Perkins, on ESPN’s “NBA Today,” spoke about Leonard’s comeback:
“He had the whole year off to recover. That’s more than enough time with an ACL injury.
“I expect big things out of him. Forget being the top-25 player. He will be a top-10 player when it’s all said and done at the end of this season. Kawhi Leonard Jordan would be on the mission. This is why I got the Clippers. That’s my favorite because he is a go-to guy, one of the best to do it.”
Kawhi Leonard is a playoff nightmare
Kawhi Leonard has a deep resume: — 19/6— 5x All-Star— 5x All-NBA— 7x All-Defense— 2x DPOY— 2x Champ— 2x FMVPWhere does Fun Guy rank all-time? https://t.co/36bnfhOMoS
Leonard has led the league in plus-minus on two separate occasions in the playoffs. During his title run with the Toronto Raptors in 2019, Leonard led the league in offensive, defensive and total win shares in the playoffs.
Moreover, he has led the league in PER on two occasions, and has more than doubled the league average on both.
If all the numbers weren’t enough, just watching Kawhi Leonard’s defense is a thing of beauty. At 6-foot-7, he is an unlikely rim protector. But his wingspan of 2.21 meters, similar to Giannis Antetokounmpo’s, and his unusually large hands lend themselves well to defending down low.
Combine all of this with his lateral quickness and IQ, and what you get is a two-way player. He is also a two-time champion, two-time Finals MVP, two-time Defensive Player of the Year, and one of the 75 greatest players of all time.