Former NBA Champion Makes Bold Kawhi Leonard Statement

Clippers fans may be surprised to hear this Kawhi Leonard take

LA Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard (2) warms up before the game between the Dallas Mavericks and the LA Clippers during game three of the first round for the 2024 NBA playoffs at the American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images / Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

Kawhi Leonard is one of the greatest playoff performers in the modern era, there's no doubt about that. Despite his success in the playoffs and NBA Finals, he's never won an NBA MVP before. One former NBA champion believes that Leonard is actually the greatest player in NBA history to never win the MVP award.

During an episode of NBA Today, Kendrick Perkins called Kawhi Leonard the greatest player to never win an MVP award. He listed him above Dwyane Wade, Jerry West, Elgin Baylor, and many other legends.

"Kawhi Leonard Jordan. Some of the greatest playoff runs in the history of the game," Perkins said. "He broke up happy homes, he done made one of the greatest players of all-time tap out - I'm talking about LeBron James, especially when Kawhi was in San Antonio. What he did, that finals run when he was in Toronto, helping them deliver their first championship in franchise history, Kawhi Leonard is the guy that I'm rolling with."

When it comes to players who receive a ton of praise in the national media, Kawhi Leonard isn't one of them. Time and time again, Leonard has been disrespected by the likes of Stephen A. Smith and many others. That's why it's so surprising to hear Kendrick Perkins actually praise the two-time NBA champion.

While Kendrick Perkins has a plethora of blasphemous takes, this isn't one of them. Kawhi Leonard had one of the greatest playoff runs of all time in 2019 with the Toronto Raptors. He scored the third-most total playoff points in a single run in NBA history, only behind Michael Jordan and LeBron James. His splits were phenomenal, and he made history within individual series as well.

Kawhi Leonard’s 2019 playoff run was special:

30.5 PPG
9.1 RPG
3.9 APG
1.7 SPG
62.0 TS%

Led the Raptors to their first NBA championship. Only Michael Jordan & LeBron James have scored more PTS in a single playoff run. pic.twitter.com/Z2iBR7ZOGN

— NBA World (@NBAW0RLD24) July 12, 2024

Kawhi Leonard may never get the credit he might deserve because of all his frequent injuries, but no one can deny that he is one of the greatest playoff performers of all time.

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