Kawhi Leonard has gotten off to a fantastic start to the 2016-2017 season, obliterating opposing defenses in his first two games.
First was Golden State, who received a dominating 35-point beatdown at the hands of Leonard, who also just so happened to rack up five steals on the other end as well. Next was Sacramento, who focused all of their attention on slowing Kawhi down, only to be picked apart by another dominate performance — This time, 30 points and 5 steals.
Leonard has been unguardable during his first two games, with defenders such as Andre Iguodala, Kevin Durant, Klay Thompson and Rudy Gay failing to slow him down.
Following the Spurs-Kings game, Kings center DeMarcus Cousins spoke of him in the most honest way possible:
“That dude’s good man,” Cousins said, laughing and shaking his head. “He’s good. He’s really good. I mean, he was hitting shots over two guys.”
Leonard shot a healthy 11-of-21 from the field against the Kings, picking apart Sacramento’s defense time and time again.
His ability to create his own shots and fearless attitude towards the game reminds Cousins of one other player in particular:
“I heard he was working with Kobe, and there were some flashes of Kobe tonight,” said Cousins. “He’s really good.”
Leonard, the NBA’s 2015-’16 Defensive Player of the Year, has vigorously worked on improving his offensive game in recent years, aiming to become one of the game’s best two-way players.
He shot career-highs from the field, free throw line and three-point line last season, a result from his determination at getting better. What comes next for Leonard, not knowing what level he’ll ultimately choose to take his game to should have the rest of the league shook with fear. When will he stop improving?
After all, the last thing competitors need to be told is that the league’s best defensive player is working with Kobe Bean Bryant.
