There have been many moments in Kawhi Leonard's career when it seemed like it was time to write him off.
This time, he's done, right? The injuries and the odd stops and starts have reached their point of winning, right? Wrong.
Leonard just keeps coming back and being an all-time great again.
Maybe the most remarkable example of that has come this season, after the Los Angeles Clippers got off to a nightmare start.
There were thoughts of them shutting it down, of trading away their stars, of moving on from this Leonard era with James Harden.
But now Leonard is hooping, and things look different.
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ESPN's Tim Bontemps summed it up this way in a new article on Friday: "Kawhi Leonard is still a force."
"Amid the Clippers' awful start and the ongoing investigation into potential salary cap circumvention, Leonard's fantastic season has largely flown under the radar," Bontemps writes. "The two-time Finals MVP is averaging a career-high 28.2 points and a league-leading 2.2 steals. And since LA's 14-3 run began on Dec. 20, no player has scored more than Leonard's 32.7 points per game."
Leonard is quiet. His game does the talking.
His game is talking quite loudly right now.
He's getting to his spots. He's scoring at well. He still has those inspector-gadget arms and hands at the defensive end, too.
The Clippers' ceiling this season is a bit confusing given their streakiness, but they have Leonard at the top of his game right now, and that's scary enough.
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