Lakers Legend Makes Controversial Kawhi Leonard Statement

If there's anything that Kawhi Leonard proved this season, it's that he's still one of the top 10 players in the NBA. However, one NBA Champion had much higher praise for the two-time NBA Finals MVP.

This week, Metta World Peace (Ron Artest) went on Twitter to make a very bold Kawhi Leonard claim.

"Kawhi is not the MVP, but he is the best in the league," Artest said.

As good as Kawhi Leonard is, even the most devout of Clippers fans would have a hard time arguing Leonard is the best player in the NBA. If it was a few years ago, this would have been a much easy argument, but with the development of Nikola Jokic, it's a very tough one.

This season, Kawhi Leonard is averaging 23.7 points, 6.2 rebounds, 3.7 assists, and 1.7 steals on 52/43/89 shooting. There have been moments where he's looked like the best player in the league, and moments where he looks like he should be the MVP. However, for as good as he's looked, he's still just a small nudge below Nikola Jokic.

If there's one thing that Kawhi Leonard definitely deserves, it's more respect from NBA analysts and fans. People criticize him as "Mr. Load Management" when in reality, he's coming off of a torn ACL and torn meniscus. Not only did he come back, but he came back and played like one of the best players in the NBA.

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