NBA History: 5 Greatest Kawhi Leonard performances of all time

Kawhi Leonard has become one of the best in the NBA right now
Kawhi Leonard has become one of the best in the NBA right now

Kawhi Leonard was traded just last season to the Toronto Raptors for DeMar DeRozan and Jakub Poeltl, and Danny Green was the cap filler in this deal. There were doubts about Kawhi's fitness and his commitment to the Raptors was also questioned. But he has silenced all his critics, and no one can probably be against him after the season he just had.

Leonard went from a defensive star with a good offensive game to one of the best players to grace the game of basketball and had just one of the best playoff runs ever witnessed in NBA history, probably the best one since Michael Jordan. So in an ode to the man, here are his 5 greatest performances of all time.

#5 Game 1 against the Philadelphia 76ers (Eastern Conference Semifinals):

Kawhi was an enigma against the 76ers
Kawhi was an enigma against the 76ers

The Philadelphia 76ers were on the road against the Toronto Raptors in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals. Both teams were looking to get the edge over the other team and take the first lead in a series that went on for 7 games.

Kawhi ended up taking the game into his own hands and put an absolute masterclass, scoring a career playoff high of 45 points in just 38 minutes, one of his best scoring performance ever, as we can watch below.

Leonard grabbed 11 rebounds and had 2 steals and a block to go with a superb 69% shooting percentage from the field. He did not let Philadelphia 76ers come into the game and led them to a 108-95 win.

Nobody on the 76ers managed to reach 20 points and even come remotely close to a Kawhi masterclass. This set the tone for one of the most entertaining playoff series in recent memory, which the Toronto Raptors won 4-3 in thrilling fashion.

#4 Game 3 overtime win over the Milwaukee Bucks in the Eastern Conference Finals:

Kawhi was his destructive self in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals
Kawhi was his destructive self in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals

The series was 2-0 in the favor of the Milwaukee Bucks and almost everyone had counted the Toronto Raptors out of the series and just another loss that they suffered on their everlasting quest for glory in the NBA.

But Kawhi Leonard was not going to be put down so easily and without a fight. He had one of his best playoff performances in a Game 3 double-overtime win over the Milwaukee Bucks in the Eastern Conference Finals.

Kawhi scored 36 points in a marathon game, where he played 52 minutes for the Raptors, grinding to a win at home. He had 9 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals and a block in a must-win game for the Raptors, which would get them back into the series against the Bucks as we can see in the video below.

They used this special Kawhi performance and did not stop, winning 4 games in a row and taking the series 4-2. Kawhi was unstoppable all throughout the playoffs and it was no different in this game.

#3 Kawhi in the Game 7 against the Philadelphia 76ers:

The Game Seven winner against Philadelphia 76ers has become the stuff of legend
The Game Seven winner against Philadelphia 76ers has become the stuff of legend

The Philadelphia 76ers` had tied the Eastern Conference semifinals 3-3 after a Game 6 win and it came down to an all-important Game 7 for both the teams to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals. Both of the teams were hungry for a win and raring to go.

The match was always going to be a close one and with the occasion rose Kawhi Leonard, who had a mini-slump, scoring just 21 points in Game 5 and 29 points in Game 6, a slump compared how good he was all season long.

He scored a team-high 41 points, grabbed 8 rebounds and had 3 assists as well in 43 minutes. He took a massive 39 shots to get there and had 3 steals too. But none of this was as impressive as the last second, buzzer beater that he scored to take the Toronto Raptors into the Eastern Conference Finals.

This moment is now being touted as one of the greatest buzzer beaters of all time, if not the best one. The stakes that were on the line and the amount of pressure under which Leonard took the shot is just inspiring as shown in the video below. The Raptors won the match 92-90 and the match became an instant classic.

#2 Kawhi Leonard leads the Spurs to the NBA title with a Game 3 classic:

Kawhi was the 2014 NBA Finals MVP
Kawhi was the 2014 NBA Finals MVP

Kawhi Leonard had a breakout during his 2013-14 NBA regular season but became a crucial part of the team in their postseason, averaging 32 minutes a game in the title-winning run of the San Antonio Spurs but nobody had imagined that Kawhi would end up winning the NBA Finals MVP.

It all began in the Game 3 of the 2014 NBA Finals against the Miami Heat, where Kawhi Leonard just went off after 2 underwhelming games where he could only muster 9 points each. He returned with a bang, scoring 29 points, grabbing 4 rebounds, along with 2 assists, 2 steals, and 2 blocks.

He played some of the best basketball of his young career and set plenty of records that night, joining only Magic Johnson and Kobe Bryant: Only 2 players younger than 23 years old have scored 29 or more points in an NBA Finals game, with Kawhi Leonard being the third.

Leonard also shot a ridiculous 76.9% from the field and continued his superb run of form into Game 4 and 5 of the NBA finals as well, winning a really unlikely NBA Finals MVP and bursting onto the stage.

#1 Game 4 of the 2019 NBA Finals:

Kawhi was a force to reckon with in Game 4 of the 2019 NBA Finals
Kawhi was a force to reckon with in Game 4 of the 2019 NBA Finals

The Toronto Raptors were coming into this game on a high, after winning Game 3 in Oracle Arena put them up 2-1 in the NBA Finals against the Golden State Warriors. Everyone believed that the Warriors will be wounded and will tie the series 2-2 at home.

But Kawhi Leonard and the Toronto Raptors had other plans for them. He played his best game of the series with a huge performance and carried the Raptors to a massive 105-92 win and gave them a decisive 3-1 lead in the series.

Leonard scored a brilliant 36 points in 41 minutes, shooting 50% from the field and took 22 shots to get there. He also had 12 rebounds and managed to get a double-double. His game on the defensive end was also amazing, getting 4 steals and 1 block as well as we can see below.

The Warriors, the only team to blow a 3-1 lead in the NBA Finals, were confident they can overcome that deficit but were unable to take the series past game 6 as the Raptors won their first ever NBA title, no small thanks to Kawhi's amazing performances.

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Edited by Zaid Khan