“If Kawhi gets his hands on you, you’re not going anywhere,” the Toronto Raptors’ DeMar DeRozan said.

Image Leonard went to the basket against Portland’s LaMarcus Aldridge in the conference semifinals. Credit... Ashley Landis/European Pressphoto Agency

Leonard, who averaged 14 points and 7.5 rebounds a game through the first two rounds of the playoffs, also ranks among the N.B.A.’s most efficient scorers. During the regular season, he averaged 1.09 points per possession, which put him in the league’s 96th percentile, according to Synergy Sports. And while he has honed his jump shot since college, he has always had a knack for finishing around the basket.

“He can go into traffic, get bumped and still finish,” Fisher said. “He’s got those hands.”

Eric Musselman, a former coach of the Golden State Warriors and the Sacramento Kings, said the biggest hands he had seen belonged to Clinton Smith, a forward who starred at Cleveland State in the mid-1980s and was a journeyman as a professional.

Musselman recalled that Smith’s fingertips were like suction cups. He would block shots, collect rebounds and create havoc in passing lanes. Musselman described Smith as disruptive, and he meant it in the best way possible.

“Defensively, holy smokes,” Musselman said. “I mean, man. I think his hands were bionic.”

Erik Spoelstra, the coach of the Heat, said he noticed Wade’s hands the first time he saw him play. Wade was driving through traffic, and as he rose for a layup, he was able to cup the ball with ease. Even as defenders swiped at it — Spoelstra slapped one of his wrists to mimic the contact Wade absorbed — he never lost control.

“It was a vise grip,” Spoelstra said. “He makes it look like a softball.”

Like Leonard, Wade also has an unusually large wingspan, which was measured at nearly 7 feet when he entered the league out of Marquette. Wade, who is a relatively modest 6 feet 4, has 696 career blocked shots, among the most for a player his size.

“We changed how we do things defensively over the years because he was so long,” Spoelstra said. “He’s 6 feet 4, but if you put him under the rim in big moments, he has a way of becoming a 7-footer. And you’re asking yourself, ‘Where did that size come from?’ It’s because of his fearlessness and his length.”