The league is wide open
Kawhi Leonard did plenty more than join the LA Clippers this summer. He broke the league wide open.
The past decade of the NBA has been one dominated by superteams — franchises with at least three stars/superstars fronting it.
It started with the Miami Heat in 2010-2011, when LeBron James and Chris Bosh joined Dwyane Wade in South Beach. It changed the model for team building, and eventually, every other franchise in the NBA was looking to form its own big three in hopes of dethroning James and the Heat. The San Antonio Spurs were eventually the team to do it, albeit not changing much to do so.
The Spurs were led by their usual core of Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili in their victory over the Heat in the 2014 NBA Finals. Only this time, they had an emerging star that was vital in containing James’ and Miami’s hopes of repeating as champions for the second straight year: Kawhi Leonard.
It was Board Man’s first Finals MVP award, one that we’ve since learned wouldn’t be his last. In that series, he made a name for himself with his defense and absurd three-point shooting. The then-22-year-old Leonard contained James as best he could, while shooting a blistering 57.9 percent from range in San Antonio’s 4-1 victory.
Leonard’s performance didn’t break up all the superteams, but it did put an end to James’ Heat, as he would link up with the Cleveland Cavaliers the following season. There, however, he would form a new superteam, with Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love by his side.
All the while, the Golden State Warriors were beginning their dynasty out West. Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green had almost everything they needed to become the NBA’s next big thing. And with a heady new coach in Steve Kerr, the Warriors took the league by storm.
They won 67 games in 2014-2015 and 73 the following season, winning the NBA title in the first of the two years. After that, Kevin Durant hopped on board, and the Warriors became the only team that others cared about beating.
The Warriors won back-to-back titles in 2016-2017 and 2017-2018, rolling through their postseason opponents as though they were nothing. A three-peat seemed inevitable in the following season too, after Golden State added DeMarcus Cousins to their already star-studded roster.
Like before, though, with James’ Heat, Leonard had something to say about it.
Kawhi and the Toronto Raptors met the Warriors in the Finals, with James’ Los Angeles Lakers missing the playoffs entirely. And despite everybody’s best guesses, it was Leonard’s Raptors that prevailed in six games.
Once again, Leonard had broken a superteam on the verge of their third straight title. Only this time, it sent stronger shockwaves throughout the league, and essentially put an end to the big three era.
Now, with Leonard on the LA Clippers, the league is as wide open as it’s been in some time. Virtually every team in contention for the title in 2020 has just two stars, as opposed to the three we’ve seen lately.
The Clippers, obviously, have their two guys in Leonard and Paul George. The Lakers have James and Anthony Davis. The Nets have Durant and Irving. The Rockets have James Harden and Russell Westbrook. Almost everywhere you look, there are superstar duos, not trios.
With the title up for grabs, the LA Clippers appear to be in better shape than any other team out there right now — which is what I’ll be getting to on the final slide.