Shutting down LeBron James is impossible.
That much has been proven time and again, but the notion of him as a human was put to bed in the 2015 NBA Finals, when he carried a slipshod Cleveland Cavaliers squad to an improbable Game 6. Yes, the Cavaliers lost. And sure, LeBron was anything but efficient. Yet if there was ever a time to slow him down, it was then, with Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving out of commission and Matthew Dellavedova playing a starring role against the Golden State Warriors. Except LeBron exploded anyway, efficiency be damned, proving yet again that he’s not like the rest of us mere mortals.
If James had to pick one player in the NBA who does the best job of defending him, though, it would be Kawhi Leonard. This, mind you, is per LeBron himself. He said as much during Uninterrupted’s Open Run podcast, per ProBasketballTalk’s Dan Feldman:
Kawhi Leonard. Kawhi Leonard, he’s solid. He’s solid, solid at that end of the floor. He’s very, very solid. I like him. I like the kid.
Much about Leonard’s claim to fame is owed to the defense he played on LeBron during the 2014 NBA Finals. He smothered him, countering every one of LeBron’s moves with his length and speed and IQ, which was a big part of why the San Antonio Spurs were able to pull past the Miami Heat in five games, effectively ending South Beach’s Big Three era.
It’s also fitting that LeBron would choose the reigning two-time Defensive Player of the Year. Leonard is the first wing to win the award since 2003-04, and he’s the first perimeter-based defender to take home the honor in two consecutive years since Sidney Moncrief, who won the first two Defensive Player of the Year distinctions in existence, in 1983 and 1984.
Basically, Kawhi got game. LeBron got game. And, as the kids say, game recognize game.
