NBA: 6 biggest risers and fallers entering the 2019-20 season

Kawhi Leonard – Los Angeles Clippers

Yup, I know Kawhi was really good before this past season, I’m not going to argue that he came from nowhere (if you’re lost, please re-refer to the agenda items). The reason he makes this list is that even though he was great before this season, he is now viewed as perhaps the best player in the world, which is a conversation he never sniffed before this year.

Kawhi was recently voted the best player in the league according to an ESPN coaches poll with 12/20 first-place votes, putting him ahead of Giannis Antetokounmpo and James Harden. Quick tangent first – who in their right mind thinks James Harden is the best player in the league outside of Rockets fans/personnel?

Last summer, Kawhi was coming off of a season with the Spurs where he played only 9 games. You can say it was for an injury or because he didn’t want to play there anymore but either way, he essentially took a year off and was then traded to the Raptors.

At the time of that trade, no one thought he was the best player in the world. He was always viewed as a really good player, but last summer if you said anyone other than LeBron James or maybe Kevin Durant was the best player, you would be ostracized.

For my money, I don’t think he’s the best player in the world but this is kind of the way it works. If you’re the best player on the last team standing then there will almost always be people willing to say you’re the best player in the league. We’ll see if that’s still what people think next summer, but I have a feeling they’ll be singing a different tune.