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Gregg Popovich: ‘Kawhi Leonard Is The Best Player In The League’

There are only three certainties in life; death, taxes and Gregg Popovich having a point when talking basketball.

Pop, asked about Kawhi Leonard's 34-10-5-6 night: "I try not to praise Kawhi too much. He's getting paid to do that."

— Jeff McDonald (@JMcDonald_SAEN) March 5, 2017

Earlier this year, he said that he tried not to praise Kawhi too much, but after the Spurs’ series-deciding win in game 6, San Antonio’s coach couldn’t help it and praised his superstar. Pop said:

 

“Kawhi Leonard, in my opinion, is the best player in the league right now,”

While Russell Westbrook and James Harden are front runners and fan favorites to win this year’s MVP trophy, we probably can all agree that Kawhi Leonard, LeBron James and Kevin Durant are more complete and on a different level.

Gregg Popovich has a point. In the regular season, Kawhi only trailed Kevin Durant with his .264 win shares per 48 minutes – probably the most important statistic.

Leonard averaged 25.5 points, 5.8 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.8 steals with great shooting percentages, and has stepped up his game even more in the first round of the playoffs, averaging 31.2 points.

If the Kawhinator is able to lead the Spurs to an even deeper run in these playoffs, it’ll once again be very hard to not agree with Gregg Popovich.