3. Kawhi Leonard, LA Clippers
When Kawhi Leonard is healthy, there’s an argument to be made that he’s one of the best players in the NBA. There aren’t many players still in the league that can impact the game as much as he can on both ends of the floor. He’s still one of the best wing defenders in the league and an extremely underrated offensive player. It’s the injuries that he’s had to overcome in recent years that have hurt his overall stock around the league.
In a “down” year, Kawhi still managed to average 24 points, seven rebounds, and four assists on 51 percent shooting from the field and 42 percent shooting from 3-point range. But again, he’s been limited to injuries and hasn’t played more than 60 games in the regular season since he was a member of the Toronto Raptors.
The hope is that Kawhi can go through the 2023-24 NBA season healthy. If that does happen, the LA Clippers will have as good of a shot as any other team in the Western Conference to win a championship. However, based on Kawhi’s recent history, there’s no guarantee of that happening.