Last week, I released who I thought were the greatest small forwards of the 2010s. LeBron James was the clear number one selection as the most accomplished and decorated player of the decade. The real debate came when I had to decide whether Kevin Durant or Kawhi Leonard would be ranked number two right behind him. The two small forwards have had similar careers in terms of accomplishments and reaching elite status as superstars in the NBA. When discussing Leonard and Durant, it all depends on what you value. An all-time great scorer who can win championships when placed in the right situation or a two-way monster who has been both a captain and second mate on championship runs.
As the late Bill Russell once said, “This game has been and will always be about buckets.” I tend to lean toward Durant in this debate, but I cannot fault those who would rather side with Leonard. Today, just as we have done with some great comparable stars in the past, we will compare these two great players’ careers using a variety of metrics. We will look at their accomplishments on the court, both on the team level and individual level. We will even add in some advanced metrics for good measure to see just how close this comparison really is.
This is the career comparison of Kevin Durant and Kawhi Leonard.
Championships
Kevin Durant: 2 (2017, 2018)
Kawhi Leonard: 2 (2014, 2019)
Kevin Durant and Kawhi Leonard each have won two NBA championships in their career, with all four of them coming during the 2010s. Durant won back-to-back NBA titles with the Golden State Warriors in easily one of the most traitorous moves in NBA history. Durant joined the Warriors after nine seasons with the Oklahoma City Thunder and immediately transformed an already dangerous team into an unstoppable one. They would go back-to-back as NBA champions in 2017 and 2018, both times defeating LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers with an overall record of 8-1 between the two series.
Kawhi Leonard won two championships five seasons apart with two different franchises. His first came in 2014 when he was still a relatively unknown young man with the San Antonio Spurs. Leonard and the Spurs met the Miami Heat in the NBA Finals for the second year in a row, this time shutting down the Heat in five games. In 2019, Leonard was traded to the Raptors from San Antonio for one magical season. Leonard would navigate the waters of a dangerous Eastern Conference to lead Toronto to their first NBA Finals in team history. There, Leonard would dominate both sides of the ball and lead the Raptors to their first NBA championship over the Golden State Warriors.
Advantage: Even
Finals MVP Awards
Kevin Durant: 2 (2017, 2018)
Kawhi Leonard: 2 (2014, 2019)
One major similarity between the careers of Kevin Durant and Kawhi Leonard is that each of their two NBA championships ended with two Finals MVP awards apiece. Despite all of the talent that Durant shared the court with when in Golden State, he was the clear best player on the floor for both of their championship wins. In 2017, Durant led the Warriors to a five-game series win over Cleveland, averaging 35.2 PPG, 8.2 RPG, 5.4 APG, 1.0 SPG, and 1.6 BPG to win Finals MVP. The following season, Durant and the Warriors swept the Cavaliers in four games. Durant was named Finals MVP again with 28.8 PPG, 10.8 RPG, 7.5 APG, and 2.3 BPG.
Kawhi Leonard was also credited with two different Finals MVP award honors during the 2010s. His first came when he was still making a name for himself with the San Antonio Spurs. After 2014, Leonard’s name would be known everywhere for his defensive performance against the great LeBron James in a 4-1 Finals drubbing by the Spurs over the Miami Heat. In 2019, Leonard would do it all on both sides of the floor for the Toronto Raptors. After an NBA playoff filled with miraculous moments, Leonard delivered an all-time Finals performance against the Warriors. In a six-game series win, Leonard won Finals MVP averaging 28.5 PPG, 9.8 RPG, 4.2 APG, 2.0 SPG, and 1.2 BPG.
Advantage: Even
MVP Awards
Kevin Durant: 1 (2014)
Kawhi Leonard: 0
For most of the 2010s, both Kevin Durant and Kawhi Leonard found themselves in the midst of the NBA MVP conversation. Kevin Durant was a staple of the MVP voting during the early 2010s, finishing runner-up for the award three times before finally getting over the hump and winning one in 2014. Durant averaged 32.0 PPG to win his fourth career scoring title and 7.4 RPG, 5.5 APG, and 1.3 SPG. The Thunder would win 59 games that season but fall to the Spurs in the Western Conference Finals.
Kawhi Leonard also had a couple of close calls in winning the MVP award but was unfortunately never awarded one. In 2016, he finished runner-up to Stephen Curry, who became the NBA’s only unanimous MVP in history that season. Leonard averaged 21.2 PPG, 6.8 RPG, and 1.8 SPG while being named Defensive Player of the Year for the second straight season in 2016. Leonard would also finish third in MVP voting in 2017 behind historic seasons laid forth by Russell Westbrook and James Harden. Leonard was always worthy of the MVP award for what he did on both offense and defense, but he just fell victim to others making NBA history in the process.
Advantage: Kevin Durant
All-NBA Team Selections
Kevin Durant: 10 (6 First Team, 4 Second Team)
Kawhi Leonard: 5 (3 First Team, 2 Second Team)
Kevin Durant and Kawhi Leonard have always been toward the front of the pack when it comes to All-NBA Team selections at the forward spot. Of course, for the entirety of both their careers, one of those spots has been locked down and held steady by LeBron James. Durant would make his first All-NBA team, a First Team selection in 2010, a spot he would hold every season through 2014. His final First Team selection came in 2018 with the Warriors, but he earned his most recent All-NBA Team selection in 2021-22. Durant was named to the Second Team as a member of the Brooklyn Nets, averaging 29.9 PPG, 7.4 RPG, and 6.4 APG.
For Kawhi, he enjoyed a much shorter peak so far as a player and thus has far fewer All-NBA Team selections. Leonard would earn his first All-NBA Team selection in 2016. It was a First Team selection and, coincidentally, the second straight season in which he won Defensive Player of the Year. He would earn another First Team selection with the Spurs in 2017, and his most recent came in 2021 with the Clippers. In 2021 with L.A., he averaged 24.8 PPG, 6.5 RPG, 5.2 APG, and 1.6 SPG.
Advantage: Kevin Durant
All-Star Appearances
Kevin Durant: 13
Kawhi Leonard: 5
Whether it be for health reasons or just plain longevity, Kevin Durant has accumulated more than double the number of All-Star appearances as Kawhi Leonard. Durant earned his first All-Star selection in 2010 and would remain an All-Star for the next decade straight, averaging 28.0 PPG on 50.1% shooting during that time. After an injury cost him the 2020 season, Durant has been an All-Star all three years he has been active since, although not healthy to play once or twice. Durant also has two All-Star MVP awards in his career, in 2012 and 2019.
Kawhi Leonard has been an All-Star just five times in his 12-year career, with all of his selections coming from 2016 through 2021. Leonard earned his first All-Star selection in 2016 with the Spurs and would earn back-to-back honors with the team in 2017. After missing most of 2018, Leonard became an All-Star again in 2019 with the Raptors and in each of his first two seasons with the Clippers in 2020 and 2021. Leonard was named the 2020 All-Star Game MVP and the first recipient of the Kobe Bryant All-Star Game MVP Trophy with 30 points in 20 minutes of play.
Advantage: Kevin Durant
All-Defensive Team Selections
Kevin Durant: 0
Kawhi Leonard: 7 (3 First Team, 4 Second Team)
Anyone who was watching basketball over the last 15 years knows that Kawhi Leonard is a significantly better defender than Kevin Durant. However, Durant is an underrated defender, especially when it comes to his instincts as a help defender. Durant has a career defensive rating of 106.1 which is just below Leonard’s career rating of 102.0. Durant may not be the shutdown defender that Leonard is, and the two don’t exactly belong in the same breath when it comes to defense, but Durant is no slouch, either.
Kawhi Leonard is one of the best defensive small forwards to ever play the game. Due to his defensive abilities, Leonard earned a Finals MVP award in 2014 and back-to-back Defensive Player of the Year awards in 2015 and 2016. His two-way abilities delivered an NBA championship to Toronto in 2019 as well and had the Clippers in range of a championship over the last three seasons. When it comes to defense at their peaks, Leonard sits on an entirely different tier than Durant.
Advantage: Kawhi Leonard
Total Win Shares
Kevin Durant: 161.9
Kawhi Leonard: 90.4
It turns out that being on the floor, more often than not, actually means something. Kevin Durant has had a 16-year career with plenty of wins involved in stops with the Thunder, Warriors, Nets, and now the Suns. Durant’s seasons with the Warriors, as much as they irk the traditional basketball fan, weren’t even his highest win-share seasons of his career. From 2010 thru 2016 were his best seasons win-share-wise, with over 19.0 win shares in his 2014 MVP campaign.
Kawhi Leonard also has a track record of impacting winning basketball in multiple ways. Leonard is both a defensive and offensive master kind who can pick apart opponents any way he sees fit. Although this is true, Leonard has never recorded a higher win-share count than 14, something that Durant did four times in his career. As far as win-shares go, Leonard’s best seasons came during his runs toward the MVP award in 2016 and 2017, followed by 2020 and 2021 with the Clippers.
Advantage: Kevin Durant
Career Player Efficiency Rating
Kevin Durant: 25.3
Kawhi Leonard: 23.4
Anyone who has taken advantage of being able to watch these two great small forwards in action knows they are two extremely efficient basketball players. Kevin Durant has been especially efficient throughout his career as one of the highest-scoring small forwards in NBA history, former MVP, and Finals MVP. Durant has had numerous seasons in which he finished with 50/40/90 shooting splits but none more incredible than 2022-23. Durant made history by becoming the first player to ever record 55/40/90 shooting splits in a single season.
Leonard has shown his efficiency in different ways than Durant has. Of course, Leonard has round ways to be efficient in scoring the ball both from the mid-range and at the rim. He has also been extremely aware and smart as a playmaker as well as a run-starter with his defensive capabilities. It obviously has worked for both of them as they each have reached the pinnacles of success in the NBA. They have reached those levels by using their high basketball IQ and s𝓀𝒾𝓁𝓁 to become hyper-efficient on the court.
Advantage: Kevin Durant
Final ScoreKevin Durant vs. Kawhi Leonard 5-1
By mostly every metric in this comparison, Kevin Durant walks away with an easy win over Kawhi Leonard. As you can see, it wasn’t wrong of me in any way to name Durant as the second-greatest small forward of the 2010s, given his level of greatness. Now, obviously, I know that many people’s opinions of Durant changed the minute he decided to go to Golden State and chase championships. However, what he has done during that time, before, and after, still makes him a slightly greater player, in my opinion, and that opinion is backed up by facts.
That also doesn’t mean that thinking Kawhi Leonard is the better player is wrong, either. Leonard arguably does more as a two-way specialist and has led two different franchises to championships rather than one with the greatest supporting cast of all time. The main issue with Leonard for most of his career has been his health, which means missing the majority of seasons and big playoff games is going to hurt your legacy eventually. No matter your opinion on where these two players rank in your mind, they have been such a large part of NBA history, and the story of the game can never be told without them.
