Kawhi Leonard was selected with the 15th pick in the 2011 NBA Draft by the Indiana Pacers. However, he wasn't a Pacer for long as Indiana traded his draft rights to the San Antonio Spurs soon thereafter in exchange for George Hill. In his rookie campaign, Leonard played 64 games and averaged 24 minutes per contest. In mid-March, The 20-year-old became a fixture in the starting lineup and finished with 39 starts on the season during the lockout-shortened season. Collectively, Leonard posted per-game averages of 7.9 points, 5.1 rebounds and 1.3 steals. He was selected to the All-Rookie First Team and finished fourth in Rookie of the Year voting. In the postseason, Leonard started 14 games and averaged 27.1 minutes per contest. He delivered post-season per game averages of 8.6 points, 5.9 rebounds and 1.2 steals as San Antonio reached the Western Conference Finals.

Kawhi Leonard took on an expanded role in his second NBA season. Though he played in only 58 games for the Spurs, his playing time shot up to 31.2 minutes per contest, and he improved in nearly every statistical category. On the season, Leonard averaged 11.9 points, 6.0 rebounds and 1.6 assists per contest. In addition, he averaged 1.7 steals per game as he continued to build a reputation as a lockdown defender. Leonard also emerged as a steady outside shooter, drilling 1.1 three-pointers per contest and shooting 37.4 percent from beyond the arc. He registered six double-doubles on the season, including a 24-point, 14-rebound performance against Oklahoma City on April 4. In the postseason, Leonard was a key part of San Antonio's journey to the NBA Finals. He averaged 13.5 points, 9.0 rebounds and 1.8 steals in 21 playoff contests as the Spurs fell one game short of an NBA title.

In his third NBA season, Leonard continued to stake his claim as one of the most talented young players in the NBA. Despite logging fewer minutes per game than in his previous campaign, he posted career highs with 12.8 points, 6.2 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game. He also shot an efficient 52.2 percent from the field and 80.2 percent from the charity stripe. Defensively, Leonard made his mark with 1.7 steals per contest -- 10th in the NBA -- and was named to the All-NBA Defensive Second Team. Leonard tied a career high with 26 points in a win over Memphis on April 6 during which he made 12-of-13 shots from the field. He notched seven double-doubles during the campaign, including a 16-point performance against Dallas on April 10 in which he grabbed a career-best 16 rebounds. The postseason, however, was where Leonard truly shined. He played 23 playoff games, averaging 14.3 points, 6.7 rebounds and 1.7 steals per contest. In Game 3 of the Western Conference Semifinals, Leonard notched a double-double with 16 points and 10 assists in a win over Portland. He registered another double-double in Game 6 of the Western Conference Finals versus Oklahoma City, scoring 17 points and grabbing 11 boards. Leonard saved his best for last, posting per-game averages of 17.8 points, 6.4 rebounds and 1.6 steals in the Spurs' five-game romp over the Miami Heat in the NBA Finals. The talented youngster not only captured his first NBA Championship, he was also named the youngest NBA Finals MVP since Magic Johnson won the award in 1982.

Leonard rode the momentum of an NBA Finals MVP award to his finest regular season to date during his 2014-15 campaign with the Spurs. He set career highs in numerous statistical categories, including points (16.5), rebounds (7.2) and assists (2.5) per game. As usual, Leonard excelled on the defensive end of the court, leading the NBA with 2.3 steals per contest. He was recognized as the Defensive Player of the Year and earned a spot on the All-NBA Defensive First Team. Leonard matched his career high with 26 points four times during the campaign and scored 20-plus points on 22 occasions. The San Diego State University product tallied a career-best 14 double-doubles during the campaign, including a 17-point performance against Denver on Jan. 20 in which he grabbed a season-high 15 rebounds. On April 5, Leonard tallied a career-best seven steals and scored 26 points in a win over Golden State. Despite Leonard's fine season, San Antonio dropped to the sixth spot in the Western Conference. They faced the Los Angeles Clippers in the first round of the playoffs, bowing out in a tough seven-game battle. Leonard played well in the series, averaging 20.3 points, 7.4 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.1 steals per contest.

Leonard took his already-potent offensive game to another level during his 2015-16 campaign with the San Antonio Spurs. He averaged a career-best 21.2 points per contest while shooting over 50 percent from the field for the second time in his NBA tenure. A major reason for Leonard's leap as a scorer was his improvement as a three-point shooter. He averaged a career-best 1.8 treys per game and shot 44.3 percent from deep, third-best in the NBA. Meanwhile, Leonard continued to dominate on the defensive end as one of the league's premier wing defenders. He averaged 1.8 steals per game -- 12th in the NBA -- and claimed his second consecutive Defensive Player of the Year Award while again landing on the All-NBA Defensive First Team. Leonard earned a spot on the All-NBA First Team and finished with the second-most votes for NBA MVP. He also made his first All-Star team and scored 17 points in 26 minutes for the Western Conference in the February showcase. The 6-foot-7 forward scored a career-high 33 points in a win over the Raptors on April 2, adding six rebounds, seven assists and three steals. In the playoffs, Leonard started all 10 of San Antonio's contests. Though the Spurs were defeated by Oklahoma City in the Western Conference Semifinals, Leonard again had a strong postseason, posting per-game averages of 22.5 points, 6.3 rebounds, 2.6 steals and 1.4 blocks.

During the 2016-17 season, Leonard started 74 games -- the most of his career -- and averaged a career-high 33.4 minutes per contest. The 6-foot-7 forward increased his scoring output to 25.5 points per game, establishing the best mark of his career and ranking ninth in the NBA. He also stepped up as a distributor, dishing out a career-best 3.5 assists per contest. Leonard continued to score efficiently, making 48.5 percent of his field-goal attempts, including 38.0 percent of his tries from beyond the arc. He also converted 88.0 percent of his free-throw attempts, the highest mark of his career. Leonard achieved the first 40-point game of his career on Jan. 21, finishing with 41 points, six rebounds and five assists in a win over Cleveland. He made his second straight All-Star team and was named to the All-NBA First Team for the second consecutive campaign. On the defensive end, Leonard was again a force, averaging 1.8 steals per game and receiving his third straight selection to the All-NBA Defensive First Team. In the postseason, Leonard played in 12 games and posted per-game averages of 27.7 points, 7.8 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 1.7 steals. Led by Leonard's dominant play, San Antonio reached the Western Conference Finals for the first time since 2014. Unfortunately, an ankle injury derailed Leonard in Game 1 of the series against Golden State. He was unable to return for the remainder of the postseason, and San Antonio lost to the Warriors in four games.

The 2017-18 campaign was a difficult one for Leonard and the Spurs. The two-time All-Star missed the first 27 games of the season while recovering from a right quadriceps injury. He returned to action Dec. 12, scoring 13 points and collecting six rebounds against Dallas. Leonard played intermittently throughout the remainder of the month, finishing December with per-game averages of 13.5 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.7 assists in six games. Leonard opened January with a 25-point, eight-rebound, four-steal performance in a win over the Knicks. However, he played in only two of the Spurs' following six contests. Leonard totaled 19 points, eight rebounds, four assists and four steals in a win over Denver on Jan. 13. Four days later, he was ruled out indefinitely in order to tend to the same quadriceps injury that delayed his start to the season. Leonard did not return for the remainder of the campaign. Playing all but nine games without Leonard in the lineup, San Antonio finished with a 47-35 record, registering their worst winning percentage in 21 years. Though they qualified for the postseason, the Spurs were eliminated by the Nuggets in five games in the opening round.

In his first season with the Raptors following a trade from San Antonio, Leonard earned his third All-Star bid and was the driving force behind the Raptors' first NBA championship. After appearing in 60 regular season games and averaging a career-best 26.6 points per game, Leonard took his game to another level in the postseason, averaging 30.5 points, 9.1 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 1.7 steals in 24 playoff contests. Throughout the regular season, the Raptors were careful with Leonard's workload in consideration of the leg injury that derailed his 2017-18 campaign. However, he still led the team to a 58-24 record and the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference. Leonard's best scoring effort of the season came on New Year's Day against the Jazz when he went for 45 points on 22 shots and hit 13-of-17 attempts from the free-throw line. Leonard was named to the NBA's All-Defensive Team for the fifth time in his eight-year career. He also earned All-NBA Second Team honors while finishing ninth in Most Valuable Player voting. In a six-game NBA Finals series against Golden State, Leonard averaged more than 40 minutes per game and produced 28.5 points, 9.8 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 2.0 steals and 1.2 blocks per contest. He shot 43.4 percent from the field and 35.7 percent from three-point range. In the Raptors' clinching Game 6 victory on the road, Leonard finished with 22 points, six rebounds, three assists and two steals en route to his second Finals MVP award.

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Past Fantasy Outlooks

Leonard's 2017-18 campaign was one of the more bizarre situations in recent memory. The 27-year-old was reported to be dealing with right quad tendinopathy and was shut down for the preseason. However, that ultimately lingered into the start of the regular season and Leonard would go on to miss the team's first 27 games. In mid-December, Leonard was finally cleared for a return and he alternated playing in games and getting nights off for rest for roughly a month. However, after playing just nine contests, Leonard was shut down indefinitely and wound up missing the last 43 games of the season. The peculiarity of the situation came when the Spurs' medical staff seemed to clear Leonard to play, while Leonard's personal medical team continued to advise him to sit out. That created tensions between himself, his teammates, his coaching staff and the fans, which eventually resulted in a relationship that was so far damaged that it was beyond repair. As a result, Leonard was traded to the Raptors this offseason, as well as Danny Green, in exchange for DeMar DeRozan and Jakob Poeltl. It's a strong landing spot for Leonard considering he's joining a team that finished with the best overall record in the Eastern Conference last season and is set up for another playoff run. He's got another All-Star in Kyle Lowry to be a facilitator and to help take the pressure off his back, as well as a couple of other established pieces in the frontcourt like Serge Ibaka and Jonas Valanciunas. That should give Leonard every opportunity to excel and if he comes anywhere near his numbers from 2016-17, he'll be a sure-fire first-round pick in the majority of Fantasy leagues. In his last full season (74 games), Leonard averaged 25.5 points, 5.8 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 1.8 steals and 2.0 three-pointers, operating as one of the best two-way players in the league and finishing as an MVP finalist. The real mystery comes regarding his current health. Leonard's camp remains mum on any sort of update, though he did pass the physical that was necessary to complete the trade, so that in itself is encouraging. At this point, Leonard's draft position will simply be determined by whether or not Fantasy owners think he'll be healthy for the start of the season. If believed to be healthy, go ahead and select Leonard in the first or second round. If not, avoid him and someone else in the league will likely take the risk.

While coach Gregg Popovich's constant desire to rest his players looms large, Leonard is coming off a 2016-17 campaign where he played a career-high 74 games. That translated to averages of 25.5 points, 5.8 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 1.8 steals and 2.0 three-pointers across 33.4 minutes, which secured Leonard a spot as a finalist for league MVP honors alongside James Harden and Russell Westbrook. He also added his second All-Star nomination and All-NBA First Team award, further boosting his resume as one of the top perennial talents in the league. Leonard has always been labeled an elite defensive presence, and that was further evidenced by his 1.8 steals per game (8th in the NBA), but his continued improvement on the offensive side of the ball was especially encouraging, with his 25.5 points and 3.5 assists per contest again marking new career highs for the 26-year-old forward. While his field goal percentage and three-point percentage did dip a bit, shooting 48.5 percent and 38 percent, respectively, that can partly be attributed to an increase in his overall number of shots taken, which can conversely be looked at as a plus for his overall scoring load. Looking forward to the 2017-18 season, the Spurs' roster isn't getting any younger and regular contributors like Pau Gasol, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili should again see less and less minutes as the season goes along to preserve their legs for the playoffs, allowing Leonard to remain the workhorse. Rudy Gay's addition does bring another solid scorer to the forward ranks, but the fact that he's 30 years old and coming off a torn Achilles shouldn't detract from Leonard's ability to remain a top-10 pick in Fantasy leagues. Leonard himself is coming off a severely sprained ankle that he suffered during the playoffs back in May, forcing him to miss the final three games of the Western Conference Finals against the Warriors. He's fully expected to make a return to full strength ahead of training camp, which should allow Leonard the opportunity for a strong start to what could be another MVP caliber performance.

San Antonio brought in LaMarcus Aldridge on a max deal last summer to help take the torch from the team’s trio of aging stars (Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili), but it was Leonard who stole the show and emerged as the Spurs’ alpha dog. Leonard saw his scoring average jump from 16.5 points to 21.2 points per game and shot the ball with efficiency that rivaled Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant, hitting 50.6 percent of his attempts from the field, 44.3 percent of his attempts from three-point range and 87.4 percent of his tries from the charity stripe. Those numbers alone would make Leonard a pillar for any franchise, but his game-changing impact on the defensive end made him one of the league’s best all-around talents. He averaged 6.8 rebounds, 1.8 steals and 1.0 blocks en route to claiming a second straight Defensive Player of the Year award, and for the first time in his career, a spot on the All-NBA First Team. Though he maintains a low profile off the court, Leonard has clearly arrived as a top-10 player in the NBA and should challenge for an MVP award again in 2016-17. The Spurs will have another fellow star to integrate into their system this season with Pau Gasol joining the ranks to replace the retired Duncan, but Gasol’s willingness to share the rock may only enhance Leonard’s stat lines. The 25-year-old’s dedication to developing his game has been evident throughout his career, as he’s shown improvement as a scorer in all five seasons in the league and has turned outside shooting -- one of his weaknesses coming out of San Diego State in 2010 -- into a major strength. Only coach Gregg Popovich’s tendency to rest his stars periodically over the course of the season dings Leonard’s value, but the small forward is still capable of producing enough in 65 or 70 games to delight his fantasy owners.

Leonard played in 64 games last season, hampered by a hand injury that kept him out for 10 games, along with eye problems and an ankle injury that also sidelined him. He has never played more than 66 games in a season throughout his four-year NBA career. Although nagging injuries have been a problem for Leonard, he has improved his production each season he has been in the league. Last season, he averaged 16.5 points, 7.2 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 0.8 blocks, and 2.3 steals in 32 minutes per game. Leonard produces these numbers at a consistently efficient clip, boasting career shooting averages of 50 percent from the field, 37 percent from three, and 80 percent from the free-throw line. Being the only player on the Spurs' roster that averaged more than 30 minutes per game last season, the Defensive Player of the Year has solidified himself as the face of the future for San Antonio. His greatest value comes in nine-category leagues that factor in turnovers and percentages. Leonard's efficient play makes him an elite fantasy player despite the fact that he only has one elite categrory for fantasy production, steals. LaMarcus Aldridge will likely become the focal point of a Spurs offense that doesn't really enourage a focal point, and that could lead to everyone on the Spurs seeing fewer shots this season. The team is also so deep that they could opt to rest their players even more than usualy this season. On the rosier side of maybes, there's also a possibility that Leonard takes another step in his development on offense and has even more plays run for him this season to create a true tandem attack with Aldridge.

Kawhi Leonard, the freshly anointed Finals MVP, is entering his fourth season in the NBA. He averaged 12.8 points, 6.2 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 1.7 steals, 0.8 blocks, and 1.1 three-pointers in 29 minutes per game through 66 games last season. Leonard shot 52 percent from the field on 9.8 attempts and 80 percent from the line on 1.9 attempts. As Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili, and Tony Parker age, coach Gregg Popovich will begin to hand the reigns of the team over to Leonard, and Popovich has stated he will begin running offensive plays for the soft-spoken star. Leonard set career-highs in points, rebounds, assists, steals, blocks, and field goal percentage last season, but the real story of Leonard's season is how he played after returning from a fractured hand. In 25 games after the All-Star break, Leonard went into hyperdrive, averaging 14.7 points, 6.5 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 1.8 steals, 1.2 blocks, and 1.4 three-pointers, including shooting a remarkable 53 percent from the field and 86 percent from the line. During that time frame, Leonard was a top-10 fantasy talent in nine-category leagues. Leonard's value depends a lot on your league format, as his ability to help in all nine categories suits rotisserie leagues more than head-to-head or points formats. Regardless of your format, Leonard is an emerging superstar, and even with Pop's minute restrictions, Leonard was able to turn in a diverse, fantasy-friendly stat line. If he can avoid the injuries that have limited him the past two seasons, he has the potential to be a top-10 fantasy stud.

Like George, Leonard's hype heading into the season stems largely from his breakout performance in the postseason. Coach Gregg Popovich entrusted Leonard with 37 minutes per game in the playoffs, and Leonard responded by averaging 13.5 points, 9.0 rebounds, 1.0 assist, 1.8 steals and 1.1 three-pointers per game, while shooting 55 percent from the field and 39 percent from downtown. These are fine numbers, but we know Popovich won't give him that many minutes in the regular season, as he likes to keep his guys rested and spread out minutes when the games don't mean as much. What Leonard brings to the table in rebounding, steals and field-goal percentage, he takes away in his complete lack of assists and his modest scoring numbers. There's a good chance he takes a big step forward this season in the counting stats, but his less than ideal playing time and deficiencies in certain categories make him a clear tier below the top guys at the position.

In Leonard, the Spurs got exactly what they thought they were getting with the 15th pick in the 2011 NBA Draft--a starting small forward with a good motor and the ability to guard multiple positions. He might be a better real life player than a fantasy player, because the Spurs’ depth means that Leonard likely won’t see typical starters minutes. However, in the 24 games he started at forward last season, Leonard averaged a solid 9.4 points, 5.5 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game, while shooting 52 percent from the field, 40 percent from three and 81 percent from the line. Assuming he sees slightly more than the 25.7 minutes per game he averaged as a starting forward last season, and assuming he takes a leap in his second year, there is a lot of potential here. One possible area for regression is Leonard’s three-point shooting. He was never a 30 percent three-point shooter in college, so his 37.6 percent mark for the 2011-12 season was quite an improvement.

Leonard averaged a double-double to go along with 1.4 steals per game last season for San Diego St. He will provide the Spurs with some much needed youth, but he will open as the backup behind Richard Jefferson. He could provide fantasy value based on his defensive skills and his ability to rebound, but don’t expect a lot from him offensively.