This is the 2nd in a series of six articles about the top NBA superstars who hope to dethrone King James as the best player on the planet over the next decade. Here is a link to our previous article covering Giannis Antetokounmpo.
As the reigning Finals MVP and a two-time NBA champion, Kawhi Leonard is another superstar whom, like Giannis Antetokounmpo, certain analysts believe has now passed LeBron James as the best player in the NBA.
After spurning an opportunity last summer to join the Lakers and play with LeBron James and Anthony Davis, Kawhi Leonard instead charted his own path and recruited Paul George to join him in signing with the Clippers. Having already shown he can win at the highest level by leading the Spurs and the Raptors to NBA championships, Kawhi has demonstrated he’s not afraid to take risks or make controversial decisions to further his career.
The 6′ 7″, 225 lb 28-year old Kawhi Leonard, who is now on his third team in his nine NBA seasons, will need to avoid injury, stay healthy, and play at a high level for many more years to become the best player of this decade. Unlike Giannis and LeBron, who have never suffered a major injury, Kawhi missed almost all of the 2017-18 NBA season due to a serious quad injury and has needed extensive load management to play the last two seasons.
Avoiding another major injury and remaining healthy will be a major factor in Leonard’s quest to supplant LeBron James as the best player in the NBA over the next decade and likely why he’s not favored over Antetokounmpo. Kawhi faces a daunting challenge to become the NBA’s best player for the next decade as he will have to both overtake a still resilient LeBron James while holding back the challenge of a younger Giannis Antetokounmpo
If Kawhi can dodge injuries and elevate his game and lead the Clippers to overcome LeBron and the Lakers and Giannis and the Bucks the next two years, he would have a good start to being King of the NBA for the 2020’s.
These are the first two in a series of six articles about the top NBA superstars who hope to dethrone King James as the best player on the planet over the next decade. Over the next week, I will also post articles featuring Kawhi Leonard, Kevin Durant, Anthony Davis, Luka Doncic, and Zion Williamson, whom I consider the other five legitimate candidates to wear the crown as king of the 2020’s like LeBron James did for the 2010’s.
Predicting which professional basketball superstar is going to take over the throne from LeBron and become the king of the next decade is not an easy task because the winner will not only need to be the best player in the league but will also have to win multiple MVP awards for the regular season and Finals as well as multiple NBA championships. Thus, co-stars and supporting cast with whom each superstar plays are likely to have a huge impact on how their careers progress and their chances evolve. In a way, predicting the winner must involve predicting his team’s future success.
The challenge is made even more difficult because a decade is a long time and it’s logical to presume the winner will be a player who dominates the second half of the decade rather than the first half. Since the six candidates to take the crown from LeBron range in age from 21 to 31-years in age, the younger candidates who are still developing and have a lot more to prove and are at a disadvantage now could have an edge down the road. Long shots now, younger candidates like Luka and Zion might have a better shot at winning than older candidates like Kawhi or KD.
What I’ve tried to do with each article is evaluate the candidate’s chances based on the above criteria. I’ve kept the articles brief in the hopes everybody will read them and hope to create some good discussion about each candidate’s advantages and disadvantages. Hope you will read, enjoy, and comment. Thanks.