Kawhi Leonard
Los Angeles Clippers

Player Facts

Height: 6'7"
Weight: 225lbs.

Wingspan: 7'3"

Date of Birth:
June 29, 1991
College Experience: San Diego State (2 years)

Selections

All Star: 6
All-NBA: 4
All-Defensive: 7

Player Grades

Speed/Explosiveness: 8
Physical Strength: 10
Positional Size: 8
Positional Wingspan: 10
Paint Scoring: 9
Midrange Scoring: 10
Three-Point Scoring: 9
Dribbling: 8
Passing: 6
Perimeter Defense: 9
Interior Defense: 8
Rebounding: 8

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JUMP TO SECTION

> Intro

> Getting to His Spots

> Interior Finishing + Midrange Mastery

> Using Screens to Pass and Score

> Post Play

> Scoring on the Move

> Controlling the Pace

> Off-Ball Toolkit

> Scoring in Transition

> Incredible Man Defense

> Sound Defensive Fundamentals

> Defensive Versatility

> Footwork on Defense

> Forecasting the Pass

> High Caliber Rebounding

> Not Star-Level Playmaking

> Quality of Three-Point Looks + Injuries

> Beacon Bacon

>Link to Player Contract & Salary Info

*All short clips courtesy of Smart Highlights (YouTube)

*All statistical data courtesy of NBA Advanced Stats

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STRENGTHS

Intro

Kawhi is a physical specimen, with measurements that are seemingly tailor-made for NBA basketball. At 6'7" and 230 pounds he's a big and powerful wing. When fully healthy, Kawhi Leonard is very explosive and a dynamic leaper on both ends.

One of his differentiating factors is his insane length. Especially at his height, his 7'3" wingspan is enormous, part of which includes his massive hands. Leonard leverages these physical tools to be a highly impactful two-way monster.

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Getting to His Spots

Leonard gets to his favorite spots at will offensively. He has a very good handle, which, coupled with his strong frame, allows for ideal maneuverability. He is efficient with both his body movements and dribbles. Kawhi routinely stops on a dime and rises up for a jumper over any opponent with the challenging task of guarding him.

His calculated approach can be witnessed during a given isolation sequence. Kawhi is asked to isolate quite frequently as he is so adept here. Once he gets his shoulder into his defender, it is challenging for them to rapidly recover.

In 2018-2019 with Toronto, he was in the 83rd percentile for isolation scoring ahead of both LeBron James and Damian Lillard. More recently, he amassed 182 iso points in 2020-2021. That beat out prime-time scorers such as Devin Booker, Joel Embiid, and Zach LaVine.

One of the keys to Kawhi's success as a scorer is the sharpness with which he moves. More specifically, his impressive speed changes along his drives are vital to his productivity. These shifty drives are buoyed by Leonard's hard dribbles that get defenders on their heels. These attributes meaningfully contribute to his tremendous slashing ability.

Interior Finishing + Midrange Mastery

At the rim, Kawhi is ambidextrous and always goes up strong. His physical strength is superior to many big men that are there to contest, so he's able to finish through contact well. Leonard gets to the line at an elite level and is very efficient at the stripe. He has flirted with surpassing the elusive 90% mark at the line in multiple seasons.

Leonard regularly puts on a clinic in the midrange. In the clutch or otherwise, he leans on his reliable midrange game. These shots can be derived from a post-up, or after snaking the pick-and-roll for instance. Regardless of the source, Leonard burns single coverage in the midrange with his very high release point.

He was fifth in the Association with 2.5 midrange buckets per game in 2018-2019. His following campaign, he connected on 2.5 field goals here per contest once again. That 2019-2020 figure tied him up with DeMar DeRozan and Khris Middleton for second in the NBA.

Using Screens to Pass and Score

The pick-and-roll serves as yet another elite facet of Kawhi's game. He has made strides as a passer here, to the tune of 13.0 points per game created off his assists in 2019-2020. This mark was higher than guards Kemba Walker and Donovan Mitchell.

He does a good job of scanning the entire floor coming off the screen. He weaponizes his scoring threat to command additional defensive attention which leaves teammates open. Kawhi employs the hard jump stop in the key to explore his kickout options. Landing with the Clippers in 2019 saw him really begin to expand his playmaking scope.

Leonard uses high screens as a reliable means of scoring. He exploits every single possible defensive tactic thrown at him in these actions. His pull-up three, midrange jumper, and driving abilities are all at a superstar level.

He reads the defense and confidently capitalizes on what they opt to concede. Leonard especially feasts on teams that are reluctant to have their big rise up to pester him. Kawhi's dominance in this area is exemplified through his spot in the 90th percentile for pick-and-roll scoring in 2018-2019.

Post Play

The low and mid-post are areas of expertise for Kawhi. He posts up far more often than most modern wings and he excels here. He uses balance and laser focus to remain accurate on fadeaways and leaners. The San Diego State product maintains flawless stability even as he falls away towards the baseline.

Also, he can rip through into the painted area for jump hooks. He piles up several layups this way as well, driving hard after the initial face-up.

The 6'7" wing gets great elevation and in-air separation on his fading jumpers. What sets the table for these moves is his incremental gains of ground as he crab dribbles and uses great physicality against his man. Leonard put up more post-up points per game than larger scorers like Pascal Siakam, Kristaps Porzingis, and Montrezl Harrell in 2019-2020.

Scoring on the Move

Leonard is one of the premier scorers when he makes the catch off a curl. He is far too strong to be stripped after gaining that initial advantage. After getting his man to trail him, he keeps them on his hip as he barrels towards the hoop.

Controlling the Pace

Kawhi perpetually dictates the pace of an offensive possession as long as he has the ball. He doesn't allow the opposition to rush him or force him into an uncomfortable position. For instance, he'll calmly use a hard step-back to gain space for his jumper. Whether from three or in the midrange, Leonard doesn't get flustered by his defender. He knows he can choose from an extensive array of viable separation moves.

Off-Ball Toolkit

Despite spearheading a large portion of the team's offensive possessions, Kawhi is a valuable off-ball player. As he's played beside stars like Tim Duncan, Kyle Lowry, and Paul George over his career, he has had ample opportunities to showcase his off-the-catch proficiencies.

He is a very engaged, intelligent offensive player which translates to timely basket cuts. Additionally, Leonard's off-ball worth is further heightened by his excellent catch-and-shoot numbers.

2018-2019 saw him nail 40.8% of his threes taken off the catch. In his age-29 season of 2020-2021 he knocked down a whopping 47.2% of his triples off-the-catch.

Scoring in Transition

Kawhi is a dominant player in the open court. His propensity to gather steals leads to a number of quality transition chances. He routinely garners the attention of multiple defenders here but still manages to score effectively.

Leonard is particularly prolific as a trailer on the break where he can get fed passes for powerful slams. Overall, he posted a 1.31 points per possession mark in transition during 2018-2019. He was in the 85th percentile here with his mixture of production and efficiency.

Incredible Man Defense

Kawhi is one of the best defenders in NBA history. He fully maximizes his unique physical gifts to overwhelm his man. As an on-ball or off-ball defender, Leonard is outstanding.

He displays incredible discipline and timing with his man defense. While many players foolishly reach for the ball which leads to fouls and blow-bys, Leonard does not. Rather, the 6'7" swingman defends principally with his feet, sliding laterally to cut off opponents' paths.

Leonard stays mentally locked in on his man and picks the opportune moment to swipe at the ball with his humongous hands. While always being among the league leaders in steals, he rarely commits bad fouls since he waits for his man to expose the ball first. Kawhi channels his aggression with near perfection on the defensive end.

His elite lateral quickness allows him to take a dig at the ball on a slash while being able to recover to his primary man. This is merely one of the plethoras of the positive off-ball defensive abilities of Kawhi.

He has the speed to stick with the quickest shooters. If he does get slowed by an off-ball screen while chasing, his length can still be very disruptive for the shooter. On the whole, he limited the players he guarded in 2015-2016 to 6.4% below their average field goal percentage.

This was a single metric among many that help explains why Leonard took home his second Defensive Player of the Year (DPOY) award that year. His previous season, Kawhi's first DPOY campaign, saw him lead the league with 2.3 steals per game. More recently, he accrued a sixth-best 3.5 deflections per contest along with 1.8 steals in 2019-2020.

Sound Defensive Fundamentals

Kawhi stays in a low defensive stance as he guards his man. This allows him to quickly pounce laterally in case they try to cross him over. He also lowers the level of his shoulders by being so crouched, thereby letting him use his strong hands to dislodge the ball quicker.

Leonard keeps his long arms extended even when he's not guarding on-the-ball. He blows up many dribble handoffs this way as well. Leonard was tied for fifth in the NBA with 3.5 deflections per game in 2019-2020.

Defensive Versatility

Though he usually starts by defending the primary scorer on the opposing team, he remains effective following a switch. His speed and length allow him to suffocate smaller guards and wings.

When switched onto a big, his 230-pound body helps him do just about as well as a small forward can here. One of his go-to tactics in these scenarios involves aggressively fronting the big to increase the difficulty of the entry pass.

Footwork on Defense

He uses precise footwork to navigate around screens and remain with his man. Kawhi was in the 89th percentile in defending pick-and-roll ball-handlers during his 2015-2016 DPOY campaign.

Kawhi also uses his exceptional footwork to recover when his hips are turned the wrong way. These recoveries lead to highlight-reel blocks from behind. Even as the help man, Kawhi's combination of defensive IQ, length, and bounce make him a solid rim protector as a wing.

Forecasting the Pass

Leonard's anticipation skills on defense are otherworldly. He gets that 7'3" reach into passing lanes once he sees that the ball-handler is in trouble. By telegraphing these passes, Kawhi puts himself in positions to get clean steals that ignite fast breaks.

He also demonstrates his anticipation skills when breaking up passes to cutters. His high degree of alertness also helps here, as he visualizes where the pass will be placed so that he can intercept it.

High Caliber Rebounding

Kawhi is a tenacious defensive rebounder at the wing position. He snares boards as they ricochet off the rim thanks to his huge mitts. His defensive rebounding averages rival those of many bigs, with 6.4 of them per 36 minutes in 2018-2019.

WEAKNESSES

Not Star-Level Playmaking

Some pass types remain a work in progress for Kawhi. He pales in comparison to other high usage players like Luka Doncic or Giannis Antetokounmpo in overall playmaking ability.

Of great concern specifically is his relatively subpar passing to rollers. As someone who initiates numerous screen-and-rolls on a nightly basis, he should look to sharpen his accuracy and willingness to find his big with lobs and pocket passes. He constantly shies away from dishing tight quarters passes that would produce easy buckets with proper execution.

Quality of Three-Point Looks + Injuries

His shot selection beyond the arc is an area for potential growth. He's a good shooter, but his tendency to take some well-contested threes lowers his overall percentages. Leonard has only shot north of 40% from three in one season over his career.

The best ability is availability. Kawhi has become quite unreliable in this department. Even when he is ostensibly healthy, he tends to be rested on back-to-backs and altogether load managed heavily.

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Beacon Bacon

After getting drafted 15th overall in 2011 by the Pacers, Kawhi was moved to the Spurs in a trade package for George Hill