“He has one of the best regular season records in the history of the league. So when he's healthy and on the field, he puts his team in a position to win. » Victim of the Spurs in the NBA final in 2014, Erik Spoelstra cannot what to see that life is easier for the Clippers when Kawhi Leonard is on the ground and not in the infirmary.
As for the statistic mentioned, the winger has indeed won 73.2% of the matches he has played in the regular season since the start of his career in 2011. Only Magic Johnson and Larry Bird did better – and not by much.
He hurt the Heat
His last victory was against Miami. A match in which the MVP of the 2014 and 2019 Finals made his return after four games in the infirmary and a hip problem. “He told me he felt good. We tried to ease him into the match so that he felt comfortable.”confides Tyronn Lue for theOCR.
“The Klaw” took a quarter, like his teammates, to enter the match. After being speechless in the first, he scored 13 points in the second and broke the Heat's zone defense to revive the Clippers.
“He found the rhythm and his positions, he took shots in the second quarter”continues the Los Angeles coach. “And in the second half, it was very pleasant to see him develop like this. »
Kawhi Leonard hardly shone in the third quarter, but in the last, he started strong with two dunks, interceptions and a winning shot on the head of Bam Adebayo. It is during this sequence that the Californians definitively dismiss the Heat.
As if he had never been away
“We saw him, we saw his performance. He is among the best, both in attack and defense,” comments James Harden. “He takes shots, he is active in defense, he opens up opportunities in transition. We needed that to get well and to improve. We missed him. »
With his 24 points at 10/19 shooting, 6 rebounds, 5 assists and 4 interceptions in his team's victory, the former Toronto player made his comeback, with a solid match, worthy of his very good start to the season.
He even exceeded 13,000 career points, an unimpressive total for such an experienced player, when we see that Luka Doncic, drafted seven years later, already has 10,000 points in his legs. But, as we know, the one who started his career with Spurs has been weighed down by injuries over the years.
“It’s great to see him back in the group,” concludes Paul George. “He does all the little things, he’s so reliable. He missed a little over a week so it took him a little while to get back into rhythm. But I think he seemed like himself. »
| Kawhi Leonard | Percentage | Rebounds | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | MJ | Min | Shots | 3pts | L.F. | Off | Def | Early | Pd | Party | Int | Bp | Ct | Pts |
| 2011-12 | SAN | 64 | 24 | 49.3 | 37.6 | 77.3 | 1.6 | 3.5 | 5.1 | 1.1 | 1.4 | 1.3 | 0.7 | 0.4 | 7.9 |
| 2012-13 | SAN | 58 | 31 | 49.4 | 37.4 | 82.5 | 1.1 | 4.9 | 6.0 | 1.6 | 1.7 | 1.7 | 1.1 | 0.6 | 11.9 |
| 2013-14 | SAN | 66 | 29 | 52.2 | 37.9 | 80.2 | 1.2 | 5.1 | 6.2 | 2.0 | 1.9 | 1.7 | 1.2 | 0.8 | 12.8 |
| 2014-15 | SAN | 64 | 32 | 47.9 | 34.9 | 80.2 | 1.3 | 5.9 | 7.2 | 2.5 | 2.0 | 2.3 | 1.5 | 0.8 | 16.5 |
| 2015-16 | SAN | 72 | 33 | 50.6 | 44.3 | 87.4 | 1.3 | 5.5 | 6.9 | 2.6 | 1.9 | 1.8 | 1.5 | 1.0 | 21.2 |
| 2016-17 | SAN | 74 | 33 | 48.5 | 38.0 | 88.0 | 1.1 | 4.7 | 5.8 | 3.5 | 1.7 | 1.8 | 2.1 | 0.7 | 25.5 |
| 2017-18 | SAN | 9 | 23 | 46.8 | 31.4 | 81.6 | 0.7 | 4.0 | 4.7 | 2.3 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 1.8 | 1.0 | 16.2 |
| 2018-19 | TOR | 60 | 34 | 49.6 | 37.1 | 85.4 | 1.3 | 6.0 | 7.3 | 3.3 | 1.5 | 1.8 | 2.0 | 0.4 | 26.6 |
| 2019-20 | LAKE | 57 | 32 | 47.0 | 37.8 | 88.6 | 1.0 | 6.1 | 7.1 | 4.9 | 2.0 | 1.8 | 2.6 | 0.6 | 27.1 |
| 2020-21 | LAKE | 52 | 34 | 51.2 | 39.8 | 88.5 | 1.1 | 5.4 | 6.5 | 5.2 | 1.6 | 1.6 | 2.0 | 0.4 | 24.9 |
| 2022-23 | LAKE | 52 | 34 | 51.2 | 41.6 | 87.1 | 1.1 | 5.4 | 6.5 | 3.9 | 1.6 | 1.4 | 1.7 | 0.5 | 23.8 |
| 2023-24 | LAKE | 27 | 35 | 52.1 | 42.9 | 87.7 | 1.1 | 4.9 | 5.9 | 3.5 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 0.7 | 24.4 |
| Total | 655 | 32 | 49.6 | 39.0 | 86.0 | 1.2 | 5.2 | 6.4 | 3.0 | 1.7 | 1.7 | 1.6 | 0.6 | 19.8 | |
How to read the stats? MJ = matches played; Min = Minutes; Shots = Successful shots / Attempted shots; 3pts = 3-points / 3-points attempted; LF = free throws made / free throws attempted; Off = offensive rebound; Def=defensive rebound; Tot = Total rebounds; Pd = assists; Fte: Personal fouls; Int = Intercepts; Bp = Lost balls; Ct: Against; Pts = Points.
