Top 100 NBA players — 6. Kawhi Leonard, Clippers
Kawhi Leonard hangs like a specter over the Western Conference playoff race. Nothing would be cooler than Kawhi making a surprise late-season appearance for the 8-seed Clippers as they gear up to challenge the betting-favorite Suns. Kawhi’s lone bugaboo is health. When he’s healthy, Kawhi can single-handedly win games, even series. That said, we have see less and less of the 100 percent, full-speed Leonard since the move to LA.
In the end, we probably won’t see Leonard until 2022-23, once he’s had time to really get back into shape and rest the knee. Once he does return, Leonard will launch LA to the top of most people’s lists of contenders. He’s perhaps the most cold-blooded iso scorer in the game, and his one key weakness from the Toronto days (passing reads) has virtually disappeared in Clipperland. Here’s to hoping Kawhi gets back to his old self.
Top 100 NBA players — 5. Luka Doncic, Mavericks
The Mavs are the 3-seed right now despite woefully little star talent around Luka Doncic. Those calling it a one-man show are slightly exaggerating — Dinwiddie, Brunson, and Finney-Smith are all playing great basketball — but that doesn’t sound like the core four of a top-3 seed, does it? Doncic doesn’t get all the credit, as Dallas has played elite defense all season, but he does get a large share of it. Time and time again, Doncic has proven that he is capable of shouldering a superhuman load.
Doncic also single-handedly forced Dallas to the conference finals last season. The man just does not quit when the lights are on and the stakes are high. He has been dominating high-level competition since his mid-teens, and he has already won championships in Europe. Are the Mavs good enough to win it all this season? Probably not, but you can’t write them off completely because Luka is superhuman, and he will do quite literally everything if need be.