NBA: Ranking the careers of the 7 perimeter defenders that won DPOY

#2 Kawhi Leonard

The Klaw blocks Trevor Ariza in the Western Conference Semifinals, 2017

Career Stat line: 16.3 points, 6.2 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 1.8 steals, 0.7 blocks per game

Career Honors: NBA Champion as Finals MVP (2014), 2xDefensive Player of the Year (2015, 2016), 2xAll-NBA First Team (2016, 2017), 3xAll-Defensive First Team (2015-2017), All-Defensive Second Team (2014), 2xAll Star (2016, 2017)

The only active perimeter defender to have won this award, Kawhi Leonard was selected by the Indiana Pacers with the 15th overall pick in the 2011 NBA draft, before the San Antonio Spurs, enacted a draft-night trade to acquire him and 2 other rookies. Over the first 3 years of his career, Leonard emerged as a star defender capable of taking multiple defensive assignments with his agility, basketball IQ and a wingspan of 7'3".

Leonard truly matured into a great two-way player in the 2014 NBA playoffs, when he averaged 14.3 points, 6.7 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.7 steals while regularly guarding the best player on the opposition team. He averaged 17.8 points, 6.4 rebounds, 2 assists, 1.6 steals and 1.2 blocks in the Finals series against Miami Heat, which the Spurs won in 5 games by the largest per-game victory margin in Finals history - winning the Finals MVP in the process.

The following 3 seasons saw Leonard mature into the best two-way player in the league, and he won the Defensive Player of the Year award in the first 2 seasons while finishing 2nd in the voting in 2017. A quad injury has restricted Leonard to only 9 appearances this season, though it is expected that he will come back in time for the playoffs.