Kawhi Leonard ended the NBA’s super team era

With one decision, Kawhi Leonard ended the NBA’s super team era until further notice

It was almost surreal watching Paul George and Kawhi Leonard walk onto the stage as the all-star duo was officially introduced as members of the Los Angeles Clippers Wednesday afternoon. However, it’s the new normal for the league.

Interestingly, it almost didn’t come to fruition. Kawhi, in his introduction press conference, admitted that he nearly signed with the Los Angeles Lakers, a move that would’ve changed the entire landscape of the league.

As it currently stands, there are roughly 6-8 teams that believe they can win an NBA Championship this season. Had Kawhi signed with the Lakers, that wouldn’t have been the case.

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In a hypothetical scenario, a trio of Kawhi, LeBron James and Anthony Davis would absolutely run the league. They’d be the overwhelming favorites to come out of the West – even more so with a sidelined Klay Thompson – and have more raw talent than any team in the East.

The current parity that we see in the NBA wouldn’t exist if Kawhi had chosen to sign with the Lakers. In a way, and for at least the next two seasons, we have come to the end of the super team era.

There is no team currently in the league with three clear superstars – no, I don’t consider Draymond Green a superstar. Which was something that was starting to become a norm – starting with the 2009 Boston Celtics.

The NBA is as wide open as its been in quite a while. With one decision, Kawhi Leonard may have saved many future viewers. Many casual watchers of the league might find their way back to watching late-night basketball in Feburary and March.

Perhaps the NBA Playoffs will get a small bump, too, considering that we don’t already know the outcome. For the past few years, we knew that the Golden State Warriors or Cleveland Cavaliers were going to be holding the trophy in the end.

Now, well your guess is as good as yours. The Lakers and Clippers have to feel great about their chances. The same could be said about the Houston Rockets, who just added Russell Westbrook in exchange for Chris Paul. And you won’t be doing yourself any favors by sleeping on the up-and-coming Utah Jazz and the, still, extremely deep and talented Denver Nuggets.

In the Eastern Conference, the Philadelphia 76ers and Milwaukee Bucks will be the early favorites to represent in the NBA Finals but a lot can change between now and April.

The 2019-20 NBA season will be one of the most competitive campaigns in recent history, and in large part due to one decision made by Kawhi Leonard. It’s actually pretty amazing, considering all the noise and player movement that was taken place this summer. In the end, the only decision that really mattered was Kawhi’s.