LA Clippers’ Kawhi Leonard deservedly wins Player of the Week

The LA Clippers’ Kawhi Leonard won the Western Conference Player of the Week after leading his team to a 3-0 record over that span.

To no one’s surprise (especially Clipper Nation), Kawhi Leonard was named the Western Conference Player of the Week on Monday afternoon, his seventh time winning. His outstanding play helped the LA Clippers go 3-0 in the span of January 13 through January 19. Representing the Eastern Conference was Ben Simmons.

During the past week, Leonard has looked nearly unstoppable. During games, we have noted multiple times that he looks spry and as if his knee is not bothering him. Leonard during the 3-0 run averaged 38.0 points, 4.7 rebounds. 5.0 assists and 2.7 steals.

The team’s three wins came against the Cleveland Cavaliers, Orlando Magic, and New Orleans Pelicans. Although none of those three teams necessarily strike fear in opponents, the Clippers needed Kawhi’s output in all three outings to secure the wins.

It hasn’t been just these three outings though. Over his last five games, Leonard has scored 30+ points in each. He is just the third player in Clippers’ history (World B. Free and Bob McAdoo) to score 30+ in five or more consecutive games. In a press release, the team also notes that he is just the third player in the shot-clock era to score 43+ points in under 29 minutes (which came against Cleveland).

Leonard has also been doing this as the only superstar on the court. Paul George has been out resting his injured hamstring, so it only makes sense that Kawhi stepped up to make up for the missing scoring. With PG joining the team tomorrow, it’s possible Kawhi’s production drops, but that doesn’t mean the efficiency will.

On the season, Leonard has been phenomenal. He is averaging a career-high in both points (26.9 per game) and assists (5.1 per game). He’s shooting 46.8% from the field which includes 36.8% from deep on a career-high 5.3 attempts per game. Leonard also leads the team in rebounds and steals per game with 7.3 and 2.0 per game respectively.