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Kevin Durant Shares High Praise For Kawhi Leonard

Brooklyn Nets star Kevin Durant believes LA Clippers star Kawhi Leonard is one of the best ever

Joey Linn

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NBA all-time rankings are always heavily debated. There are often multiple right answers depending on the discussion, and as the league continues to produce elite talent, these discussions are not getting any easier. That said, Brooklyn Nets star Kevin Durant was recently asked for his Mt. Rushmore of small forwards, and gave a clear answer with little hesitation.

Told that he himself had to be on the list, Durant quickly named LeBron James, Kawhi Leonard, and Larry Bird as the other three small forwards up there with him. While James and Bird are common answers amongst many, Durant's inclusion of Leonard is a reminder of the heights he has reached as a player.

While injuries and his role to start his career have limited his counting stats, Leonard's peak is one of the highest in NBA history. While he is currently sidelined with an injury, the last time he played was some of the most efficient and dominant basketball the league had seen. Having battled him on the biggest stage, Durant has a level of appreciation for what Leonard brings.

Having missed all of last season with an ACL tear, Leonard has fallen out of many of these discussions, but if he can return to the form he was at in the 2021 playoffs, he will quickly remind people why he belongs right in the middle of these all-time great talks.

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Joey Linn
JOEY LINN

Joey Linn is a credentialed writer covering the NBA for Sports Illustrated's FanNation. Covering the LA Clippers independently in 2018, then for Fansided and 213Hoops from 2019-2021, Joey joined Sports Illustrated's FanNation to cover the Clippers after the 2020-21 season. Graduating from Biola University in 2022 with a Communication Studies degree, Joey served as Biola's play-by-play announcer for their basketball, baseball, softball, and soccer teams during his time in school. Joey's work on Biola's broadcasts, combined with his excellence in the classroom, earned him the Outstanding Communication Studies Student of the year award in 2022. Joey covers the NBA full-time across multiple platforms, primarily serving as a credentialed Clippers beat writer.

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