LA Clippers: Kawhi Leonard Named to All-NBA Second Team

In a tiny bright spot after a disappointing end to the season, LA Clippers Forward Kawhi Leonard was named to the All-NBA 2nd team.

It doesn’t take the sting away from the LA Clippers’ collapse, but today it was announced that Kawhi Leonard was recognized for his regular-season performance, earning a spot on the All-NBA 2nd team.

This is alongside the recent news that Kawhi scored a Second-Team spot on the NBA All-Defensive team. All in all, a very successful season for Kawhi, at least on the individual level!

Kawhi, who averaged 27 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists in the regular season, is the only Clipper represented on the All-NBA teams. Teammate Paul George received 2 Second-Team votes and 1 Third-Team vote but was beaten out by Jimmy Butler and Jayson Tatum for the Third-Team spots.

It’s hard to argue that Kawhi doesn’t belong on the 2nd Team. He wasn’t statistically better than Giannis Antetokounmpo or LeBron James in the regular season, but his performance put him solidly above the Third Team forwards.

Kawhi was every bit as good as advertised in the regular season this year. While the team’s rotations were in flux due to injuries and Doc figuring out who his preferred guys were, Kawhi was a steady presence (except on back to backs of course) who helped lead the team to its first-ever second seed.

It’s a shame that his great regular season didn’t correlate with postseason success for the team, but it’s hard to blame Kawhi for that, despite him playing possibly his worst game of the season in Game 7 of the Denver series.

Throughout the playoffs, Kawhi was a monster, eclipsing 30 points in 7 of the 13 games and hitting 29 points in two more. Even including his awful Game 7, Kawhi’s playoff averages are incredible: 28 points, 9 rebounds, and 5.5 assists.

Even though the season didn’t end nearly the way Clippers fans hoped it would, it’s been a bright spot to watch Kawhi Leonard go to work game in and game out. At 29 years old, we can expect quite a few more years of Kawhi playing at this level, which should leave most fans of the team with hope for the future.