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Three goals for Kawhi Leonard in 2019-2020 season

By Garrett Chorpenning

US basketball player Kawhi Leonard speaks during a press conference introducing Leonard and Paul George as new players on the Los Angeles Clippers in Los Angeles on July 24, 2019. (Photo by Frederic J. BROWN / AFP) (Photo credit should read FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP/Getty Images)
US basketball player Kawhi Leonard speaks during a press conference introducing Leonard and Paul George as new players on the Los Angeles Clippers in Los Angeles on July 24, 2019. (Photo by Frederic J. BROWN / AFP) (Photo credit should read FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP/Getty Images) /
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TORONTO, CANADA – MARCH 14: Kawhi Leonard #2 of the Toronto Raptors plays defense against the Los Angeles Lakers on March 14, 2019, at the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by Mark Blinch/NBAE via Getty Images)
TORONTO, CANADA – MARCH 14: Kawhi Leonard #2 of the Toronto Raptors plays defense against the Los Angeles Lakers on March 14, 2019, at the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by Mark Blinch/NBAE via Getty Images) /

Be honored for defensive efforts

On any list of the NBA’s best two-way players, Kawhi Leonard will undoubtedly be among the top three. You could argue a few other players ahead of or around him, but for the most part, Leonard is universally known for being a tremendous player on both ends of the floor.

Leonard has no shortage of accolades when it comes to defense. The eight-year veteran has been named to the All-Defensive Team five times (three of which are first-team selections) and won two Defensive Player of the Year awards. He’s also been a part of the All-NBA Team three times, twice as a first-teamer.

It would only make sense for Leonard to earn another All-Defensive selection in 2020, and it wouldn’t be shocking if a few of his LA Clippers teammates joined him there.

If Leonard is the best defensive small forward in the league, then Paul George is right there behind him. He’s never won a Defensive Player of the Year award before (though he was a finalist for it in 2019), but he does have four All-Defensive selections and recorded more steals last season than any other player in the league. Seeing him right back in that conversation in 2020 seems more likely than it does not.

Patrick Beverley is someone else that we can’t go without mentioning. He’s a bulldog, and he crams about as much energy and grit as one can into a six-foot body. He’s made the All-Defensive Team twice during his seven-year career and was barely left off the list in 2019.

Being around these kinds of guys should only help Leonard as a defender. Even though he’ll likely still be asked to take on the opposing team’s best player, the Clippers have more than enough options to throw at them when Leonard is on the bench or fulfilling a different assignment.

He may not win another Defensive Player of the Year award since it may be harder to stand out with other great defenders on his team, but at the very least, Leonard should at least land on his sixth All-Defensive Team in 2020.

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