Kawhi Leonard is the man.
That’s all I have to say after being directed toward this anecdote by Pounding The Rock’s Quixem Ramirez. It comes from a feature penned by ESPN.com’s Tom Haberstroh and divulges Leonard’s response to a congratulatory text for his first NBA All-Star selection:
Which helps, in a way, explain one last story: In late January, Leonard was named a starter for the All-Star Game — making him the only player other than Michael Jordan and Hakeem Olajuwon to be awarded Finals MVP, defensive player of the year and an All-Star starter. When Shelton heard, he texted congratulations. What he received in reply was so bland, so understated, it seemed eerily reminiscent of a certain longtime Spur. “Thanks,” replied the next Tim Duncan. “This is just the beginning.”
Indeed, it is.
Here’s a fun stat for ya: Kawhi Leonard is the lone player this season with a defensive box plus-minus greater than 2.5 and an offensive box plus-minus north of 5.0, according to Basketball-Reference. This, in fact, has been done by just nine other players in NBA history. The last one to do so is LeBron James.
We often forget or don’t fully appreciate how ridiculously good the 24-year-old Leonard actually is.
Which is the other thing: He is only 24 years old.
What we see now, with him having already established himself as the San Antonio Spurs’ most important player, really is just the beginning.
