3. Kawhi Leonard, San Antonio Spurs
Stats: 20.9 points, 7.0 rebounds, 27.1 PER
The San Antonio Spurs, somewhat quietly, are having one of their best seasons in the history of the franchise. They’re also having an exceptional year when you begin to dig into the advanced stat sheets. And while we can’t give the NBA MVP to an entire team, someone in San Antonio deserves the credit.
Enter Kawhi Leonard, who is on pace to having the best year of his young career. Leonard is fourth in the NBA in Player Efficiency Rating (27.1) and third in the league in Real Plus-Minus (9.90). He’s also the team’s best player, and perhaps the best two-way player in the NBA.
Leonard will shutdown your team’s best player and then light him up on the offensive end. He deserves some MVP consideration, even if he won’t tell you.
Next: KD