NBA Awards Watch: The two-way greatness of Kawhi Leonard

Most Valuable Player

1. Stephen Curry, PG Golden State Warriors – The Warriors have been the best team in the NBA, and Curry is their flagship star. He leads the NBA in PER (32.0), true shooting percentage (68.0%), win shares, win shares per 48 minutes, box score plus-minus and VORP, while averaging “traditional” numbers of 30.5 points, 6.4 assists and 5.7 rebounds per game. To be honest, we could go on for 2,000 words about the ridiculous season that Curry is having and that would be perfectly justified. For now, though, we will simply state that is the MVP with room to spare.
2. Kawhi Leonard, SF San Antonio Spurs – Leonard was already anointed as the defensive player of the year in this space and, well, he is pretty good on the offensive end as well. He will never carry the offensive load of someone like Curry, but Leonard is averaging 20.8 points per game on 51% shooting from the floor and 49% shooting from long range, and that is incredibly impressive. Defense is undervalued in the grand scheme of things, and with Leonard operating as a full-on star on that end, the gap between Curry and “everyone else” becomes slimmer with San Antonio’s star wing involved in the discussion.
3. Russell Westbrook, PG Oklahoma City Thunder – With Kevin Durant “back” as the superstar that he used to be, Westbrook’s MVP case takes a hit. Still, Westbrook has the more impressive statistical case and, at least in the minds of some, the Thunder are the third-best team in the NBA. Westbrook is averaging 25.6 points, 9.3 assists and 6.9 rebounds per game with a PER mark (30.38) that is second only to Curry. The argument about who Oklahoma City’s best player is will rage on for the next handful of seasons, but Durant’s full body of work in 2015-2016 falls just short of Westbrook’s performance.