In the 1977 movie, Pumping Iron, a reporter has a conversation with Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Reporter: "The wolf climbing the hill is hungrier than the wolf on the top the hill."
Arnold: "yeah, but if the wolf wants the food, it's there"
Both the question and the answer describes San Antonio Spurs small forward, Kawhi Leonard perfectly. He is both hungry and the king of the mountain. The Spurs defeated the Golden State Warriors at Oracle Arena in their first game of the 2016-17 NBA season, 129-100. In 32 minutes, Kawhi Leonard, had 35 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists and 5 steals. He also made 15 out of 15 free throws. At 25 -year-old, Leonard is about to take the NBA by storm.
It is common knowledge that LeBron James is not only a top 5 player of all time, but he is still the best player in the NBA. James has been to 7 NBA Finals (6 straight) with 4 different head coaches. But, with that said, Leonard is now the first option for the Spurs. With Duncan officially retired, the former San Diego State star is now the leader of this team on and off the court.
Leonard can be the first player in NBA history to win the MVP, Defensive player of the year and lead the league in 3-point shooting percentage all in the same season. Last year he averaged 21.2 points, 6.8 rebounds. 1.8 steals, 2.6 assists, shot 87% from the free throw line and finished fourthin three-point FG percentage(.443).
The only negative to Kawhi’s game is that he is sometimes way too unselfish. He doesn’t want to step on anyone’s toes and is perfectly happy letting his other teammates shine. Head coach Gregg Popovich must make it perfectly clear that the small forward should shoot more and facilitate the offense more. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Kawhi running the point/forward position.
The sky is the limit for Leonard and expectations are high for him to win the MVP and 3rd straight defensive player of the year. He is the best two-way player in basketball. If he was playing in a big media market like LA or NY, he would be a household name.
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