LA Clippers coach Doc Rivers compares Kawhi Leonard to Michael Jordan

On Tuesday night’s NBA Finals preview, LA Clippers coach Doc Rivers claimed that Kawhi Leonard is “the most like Jordan” in today’s NBA.

In case you weren’t aware, the NBA’s free agency period is rapidly approaching. In fact, after the latest change regarding the moratorium period, players and teams will now be able to discuss deals six hours earlier than before — effectively pushing the start date up to June 30 across the country. And with just under a month remaining until that date, it’s never too early to begin the recruitment process.

On Tuesday night, LA Clippers head coach Doc Rivers seemed to get the ball rolling when he appeared on ESPN to discuss the NBA Finals.

It all started when Stephen A. Smith asked the room if Kawhi Leonard is currently the best player in basketball. Former Los Angeles Lakers executive Magic Johnson stated his belief that a title this year would “put him right up there” with the best of the best, which Rivers followed with some statements of his own.

“He is the most like [Michael] Jordan that we’ve seen,” Rivers said. “There’s a lot of great players, like LeBron is phenomenal, KD is phenomenal, but not that he is Jordan or anything like that, but he is the most like him. Big hands, post game, can finish, great leaper, great defender, in-between game, if you beat him to the spot he bumps you off. Then you add his three-point shooting.”

It probably isn’t a coincidence that the player Rivers is talking about in the clip above is the same one that’s expected to be atop his team’s list of available free agents this summer, but even if that is the case, his statements still come off sounding very sincere — the point being, he isn’t just saying this in order to recruit Leonard. He believes what he’s saying, and rightfully so.

There are a lot of things that Leonard does that reminds people of Jordan. Aside from the things that Rivers mentioned in the video, Leonard seems to have the same edge Jordan had, as he’s certainly not one to shy away from big moments. You don’t have to dig deep to find evidence of that.

Regardless of his intentions, Rivers was very smart in his execution of what he said. Although the NBA’s tampering rules are hardly ever clearly defined, Rivers never made any mention that he’d love to have Leonard play for his team. In fact, he never mentioned the Clippers at all, and those are the sort of things that seem to get executives and coaches alike in trouble.

It’s clear Rivers will have quite the talent on his hands if Leonard does happen to sign with the LA Clippers this summer.