Clippers teammate James Harden may have summed up Kawhi Leonard’s legendary night best.
After a win Monday night helped Los Angeles even up the playoff series with the Nuggets at a game apiece, Harden had this to say about Leonard:
“It didn’t feel like he missed a shot.”
That’s how good the all-time great was. In the interests of statistical honesty, Leonard missed four shots. He was 15-for-19 from the floor, and these weren’t all easy ones.
Leonard worked his way to 39 points through his impressive diet of contested shots and physical attacks of the basket.
KAWHI LEONARD MASTERPIECE IN GAME 2!
🖐️ 39 PTS
🖐️ 15-19 FGM
🖐️ 5 AST
🖐️ 2 STL
🖐️ 4 3PMClippers even the series 1-1 in a THRILLER in Denver 😤 pic.twitter.com/9pFIrooD1a
— NBA (@NBA) April 22, 2025
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At his peak, which is one of the most impressive peaks in NBA history, it seems like Leonard gets wherever he wants and then makes whatever shot he wants. That’s what Monday night looked like.
A latter-half career stifled by injuries and rest and mysterious absences is now getting a new chapter, one of a player rediscovering the might of his powers.
“I’m just happy I’m able to move again,” Leonard told reporters postgame.
So is the rest of the basketball world that gets to appreciate his brilliance (although maybe not the Nuggets).
Leonard’s output, the 39 points on 78.9 percent from the floor, was only the fifth time a game that efficient and high-scoring had ever been put up in NBA Playoffs history.
The previous four came from Terry Porter (1992), Elton Brand (2006), Dirk Nowitzki (2011) and Devin Booker (2023), according to the NBA.
Leonard truly wrote himself an all-time great performance, a reminder of the brilliance of his game.
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There was a time Leonard had a legitimate argument as the best player on the planet. That time feels long past now, but Monday night was the most complete of any possible vintage performance Leonard could’ve delivered.
He even hit an incredible, leaning, contested-by-three-guys long jumper at the first-half buzzer to give the Clippers a three-point halftime lead that worked out to be the final margin.
Kawhi’s still got it, and with that, the Clippers have plenty of mojo working. One of the greatest talents in NBA history is back at the height of his powers once again.
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