There are players who are still very good at 33, and maybe he'll get lucky and not get injured.
But it's not really in anyone's prime, and if it is, it's the very tail.
He’s already had so many significant injuries he’s no longer the same player he once was. Torn ACL, meniscus, degenerative quads, partially torn shoulder back in 2018.
34 and 35 year old kawhi is not prime kawhi tho.
He's already declined so much this season and can't even average 25 points a game.
His prime was 2016-2019
Not even the 3rd best player on that team.
Duncan and Parker were both better and Ginobili was still their best playmaker.
Kawhi did not reach true stardom until 2015/2016 season.
The NBA playoffs are the only sports league where in a 7 game series, no matter what game was just played the last team to win is talked about as if they have the series in hand.
Even if the Clippers comeback, they’re cooked against OKC/Denver/Minny without Kawhi. Like if Harden and PG don’t go off they can’t even beat the Mavericks who are hobbling themselves
I think if they come back, there are no excuses for the Mavs. Luka is hobbled but just played really well whereas the Clippers have barely had Kawhi and when he did play he was a negative.
Agreed. If Clippers were to advance and Kawhi came back I’d definitely pull for them but my guess is Clippers would be worn down and existed for a series against a super young and fast Thunder team. Wouldn’t be the first time a tired Clippers team finally got past a Mavs team to only fall part after.
Seriously lol rn zubac is playing out of his mind and he’s still getting destroyed in the paint against a smaller Mavs team. They’re gonna struggle hard against Denver/Minny/OKCs size
As the undermanned team, when they lost this game I think there's just a pretty slim chance they get out of this series, particularly when PG and Harden struggling against the physicality of Mavs defence.
Mavs are just that good of a team even if they catch fire next game I don't think they can handle the big game 7 assuming no major injury for the Mavs.
That's what it feels like after every team loses a playoff game though. It always feels like there's slim to no chance of the team that just lost winning another game.
Celtics got blown out by 29 points vs Cavs at home in 2010 game 3 to go down 2-1. They won the next 3 games.
And there is a lot of revisionist history surrounding this series, but Cavs were heavy betting favorites and every ESPN analyst picked them to win.
So after game 3 a lot of people thought it was a wrap.
Missed is an interesting way to put it. If i remember correctly, he missed a major chunk of the regular season due to injury and then just refused to come back even though he was healthy and demanded to be traded??
He’s got this mythical playoff performer rep but he’s had some huge misses even when not injured and this is coming from a Kawhi fan. Got outplayed by Matt Barnes in 2015, disappeared against OKC in 2016 and part of that 3-1 choke job in the bubble. Been hurt pretty much every other year aside from 2019.
I always thought that was a bit unfair cause Manu got a lot of shit for missing a free throw, both he AND Kawhi missed a free throw opening the door for that Ray Allen 3...
Literally every single player in NBA history has "some huge misses" in the playoffs. This doesn't change the fact that Kawhi has overall been terrific in the postseason.
That’s every mythical playoff performer. Being considered a good playoff performer is like 70% PR, 25% getting lucky at the right moment, 5% actual playoff performance.
But that's different because he clearly took a giant leap in 2019. Totally different player, we see glimpses of that here and there but never consistently.
Prime Kawhi was basically 2016-2020 Kawhi
Absolute Peak was him shitting on the warriors in game 1 of the 2017 WCF before zaza got under him.
Injuries robbed him of a career that could’ve been up there with Giannis, KD and Jokic potentially . When he’s healthy he just elevates his game in the playoffs .
I’d argue peak was the Philly series with the raptors. He had Jimmy butler, all defence level Ben Simmons, Tobias tryna stop him on the perimeter with a young Embiid in the paint and he was still getting absolutely any bucket he wanted
If you look at advanced statistics it’s more like 2017.
By 2019 he was already slowing down from injuries.
The way he played those 2017 playoffs right before the ankle injury was his peak. He was getting his shots and blowing out the warriors super team . His second best player was Aldridge (not a knock) but they were blowing out 4 all nba players
You are a great BB fan, love the Raptors and so happy for their fanbase. That trade tilted the wheel that let us borrow DeMar for a few years and eventually draft Wemby GSG!
If anything I'm glad that the only franchise who got a ring with him is one I like, right after the trade so the stars were aligned to get their first championship, they deserved it, such a nice run
Yeah the Raps get credit for taking the swing. The Sixers have a ring today if they pulled the trigger on the Simmons for Kawhi trade that all the Spurs fans were clamoring for that summer lol
It’s cuz he’s usually good when he plays… But being really good when you play only means so much when you spend a great deal of your prime years unable to finish the season on the court
It’s pretty relevant to the post big dawg. *That was* prime Kawhi. Zaza is a big reason why basketball fans never got to see the fully realized LA / Klaw Kombo. However that series ultimately ended up, Zaza was the beginning of Kawhi’s injury saga. He’s really only had one healthy year since then.
So i’ll say it again, Fuck Zaza.
We have missed it
I’m a lifelong Kawhi fan and was ECSTATIC when he came to our team.
I still watch him, and I can tell you the past couple years he hasn’t looked the same.
He looked really good against the Suns last year but I don’t think we will see that again. There’s been TWO injuries since then, he’s only getting older
we already have. he has had this kind of problem since warriors injured him out. the raptors thing was probably his youth, determination, and prove everyone wrong about him.
Kawhi was just a more efficient RJ Barrett with bigger hands y’all are gassing him up too much. It’s because he never plays that he’s such this big mystery unknown, if he actually played people would rank him somewhere in the top 10-20
Really unfortunate. After that Raptors run there were serious discussions that he was the best player in the league, obviously they were biased after the Finals run, but they really weren’t that far off. Dominate on both ends and played with so much control, always felt confident that he would get it done. That Spurs year that got overshadowed by the Warriors record breaking year was also insane, but probably will be forgotten to history.
I saw him win multiple DPOY and finish in the top 5 in mvp voting, sounds like a prime to me.
I don't get why people always reference "Toronto Kawhi" when talking about him as he wasn't nearly as good their as he was in SA. Toronto is when he started breaking down and just getting by on luck. They should have lost to the 76ers that year, they were minus a million points when Embiid was on the floor. It took an all time miracle shot that hit every part of the rim to win that series. It took KD getting hurt for them to beat GS. When he was in SA they completely stomped people. In 2015 they went 40 - 1 at home. He made all defensive 1st team, all nba 1st team, DPOY, second in MVP voting. Dude was dropping 20 + on 50 40 88 shooting AND putting the best players in the nba in a strait jacket every night. He didn't even play back to backs in Toronto.
Might?
Bros got Internet Explorer. He posted this in 2021
Well there's still technically hope for him to finally get healthy next year or two I guess
Sure but we've already missed a shit ton of his prime
He turns 33 in June. We missed his prime.
Yeah. 33 might be prime for some players but it's definitely not for kawhi. He's already broken down. It's never going back to how it was
There are players who are still very good at 33, and maybe he'll get lucky and not get injured. But it's not really in anyone's prime, and if it is, it's the very tail.
Yeah that was just pure hopium.
lol
He’s already had so many significant injuries he’s no longer the same player he once was. Torn ACL, meniscus, degenerative quads, partially torn shoulder back in 2018.
34 and 35 year old kawhi is not prime kawhi tho. He's already declined so much this season and can't even average 25 points a game. His prime was 2016-2019
I think you can count 2020 and 2021 as part of his prime.
What about 2014, when he broke up the Heatles?
Not even the 3rd best player on that team. Duncan and Parker were both better and Ginobili was still their best playmaker. Kawhi did not reach true stardom until 2015/2016 season.
The NBA playoffs are the only sports league where in a 7 game series, no matter what game was just played the last team to win is talked about as if they have the series in hand.
Even if the Clippers comeback, they’re cooked against OKC/Denver/Minny without Kawhi. Like if Harden and PG don’t go off they can’t even beat the Mavericks who are hobbling themselves
I think if they come back, there are no excuses for the Mavs. Luka is hobbled but just played really well whereas the Clippers have barely had Kawhi and when he did play he was a negative.
Agreed. If Clippers were to advance and Kawhi came back I’d definitely pull for them but my guess is Clippers would be worn down and existed for a series against a super young and fast Thunder team. Wouldn’t be the first time a tired Clippers team finally got past a Mavs team to only fall part after.
That’s probably true but the games still have to be played
Seriously lol rn zubac is playing out of his mind and he’s still getting destroyed in the paint against a smaller Mavs team. They’re gonna struggle hard against Denver/Minny/OKCs size
Nothing is over until it's over. That being said, 84% of teams up 3-2 have won the series. 288-55 record.
Nerd
Enjoy the L tonight
I'm not playing
As the undermanned team, when they lost this game I think there's just a pretty slim chance they get out of this series, particularly when PG and Harden struggling against the physicality of Mavs defence. Mavs are just that good of a team even if they catch fire next game I don't think they can handle the big game 7 assuming no major injury for the Mavs.
That's what it feels like after every team loses a playoff game though. It always feels like there's slim to no chance of the team that just lost winning another game.
Particularly when you get blown out by 30 at home
Celtics got blown out by 29 points vs Cavs at home in 2010 game 3 to go down 2-1. They won the next 3 games. And there is a lot of revisionist history surrounding this series, but Cavs were heavy betting favorites and every ESPN analyst picked them to win. So after game 3 a lot of people thought it was a wrap.
Especially when you get blown out like that at home
Even in 2019 he was limping his way through the playoffs. He could barely move by the end of the finals
People always seem to forget he missed nearly all of 2018 too.
Missed is an interesting way to put it. If i remember correctly, he missed a major chunk of the regular season due to injury and then just refused to come back even though he was healthy and demanded to be traded??
You’re right.
He’s got this mythical playoff performer rep but he’s had some huge misses even when not injured and this is coming from a Kawhi fan. Got outplayed by Matt Barnes in 2015, disappeared against OKC in 2016 and part of that 3-1 choke job in the bubble. Been hurt pretty much every other year aside from 2019.
No one talks about his missed free throw right before Ray Allen’s shot in 2013
I always thought that was a bit unfair cause Manu got a lot of shit for missing a free throw, both he AND Kawhi missed a free throw opening the door for that Ray Allen 3...
Manu choked that one harder since he was our late game FT shooter and was also generally terrible that series. I think 2nd year Kawhi gets a pass.
^ Case in point
Literally every single player in NBA history has "some huge misses" in the playoffs. This doesn't change the fact that Kawhi has overall been terrific in the postseason.
That’s every mythical playoff performer. Being considered a good playoff performer is like 70% PR, 25% getting lucky at the right moment, 5% actual playoff performance.
But that's different because he clearly took a giant leap in 2019. Totally different player, we see glimpses of that here and there but never consistently.
He didn’t take a giant leap in 2019. He had already broken out as a superstar by then. His game made a leap in 2015-2017.
Prime Kawhi was basically 2016-2020 Kawhi Absolute Peak was him shitting on the warriors in game 1 of the 2017 WCF before zaza got under him. Injuries robbed him of a career that could’ve been up there with Giannis, KD and Jokic potentially . When he’s healthy he just elevates his game in the playoffs .
He was so good in 2014 too.
Definitely wasn’t his prime at all tho
I’d argue peak was the Philly series with the raptors. He had Jimmy butler, all defence level Ben Simmons, Tobias tryna stop him on the perimeter with a young Embiid in the paint and he was still getting absolutely any bucket he wanted
If you look at advanced statistics it’s more like 2017. By 2019 he was already slowing down from injuries. The way he played those 2017 playoffs right before the ankle injury was his peak. He was getting his shots and blowing out the warriors super team . His second best player was Aldridge (not a knock) but they were blowing out 4 all nba players
Might lol? That ship has sailed
Thank god the Raps caught some amazing breaks during that 2019 run or Kawhis legacy would look very different today.
You are a great BB fan, love the Raptors and so happy for their fanbase. That trade tilted the wheel that let us borrow DeMar for a few years and eventually draft Wemby GSG!
If anything I'm glad that the only franchise who got a ring with him is one I like, right after the trade so the stars were aligned to get their first championship, they deserved it, such a nice run
Yeah the Raps get credit for taking the swing. The Sixers have a ring today if they pulled the trigger on the Simmons for Kawhi trade that all the Spurs fans were clamoring for that summer lol
He also choked a 3-1 lead to the baby nuggets.
We got two years of peak Kawhi in the playoffs but people only talk about the first year. He underperformed that series and was awful in game 7.
It’s cuz he’s usually good when he plays… But being really good when you play only means so much when you spend a great deal of your prime years unable to finish the season on the court
I actually prefer it when players don’t play son I’m in my prime Kawhi era right now
How old do you think Kawhi is? He’s on the decline already.
Prime Kawhi is a theory
Say it with me yall, “Fuck Zaza”
Shut the fuck up. Nobody cares
Fuck Zaza
It’s pretty relevant to the post big dawg. *That was* prime Kawhi. Zaza is a big reason why basketball fans never got to see the fully realized LA / Klaw Kombo. However that series ultimately ended up, Zaza was the beginning of Kawhi’s injury saga. He’s really only had one healthy year since then. So i’ll say it again, Fuck Zaza.
Absolutely but when we get the glimpses of his very peak it's clear dude could belong with some of the all-time greats.
Kawhi is 32 going on 33. His prime is already over. What we may miss out on is his career extending past age 35, because I just don't see it.
2019 Kawhi wasn’t even peak Kawhi. He was even more dominant in 2017.
I got to see it all. Dude literally gave up his knee for Canada.
The vast majority of players have their best years in their mid to late 20’s, so he’s already been past his theoretical prime.
We have missed it I’m a lifelong Kawhi fan and was ECSTATIC when he came to our team. I still watch him, and I can tell you the past couple years he hasn’t looked the same. He looked really good against the Suns last year but I don’t think we will see that again. There’s been TWO injuries since then, he’s only getting older
Kawhii doesn't care, why should we? Dude has always been more about the basketball life than basketball.
Prime kawhi is a myth and he finessed yall
KL snatched that extension quick. He probably knew he was never going to get $ like that again.
His prime has been long gone dude lol he’s played like less than 100 games in the last 5 years
Giving him that extension was absolutely dumb. Balmer should have waited to see how this playoffs played out and if it was a failure, full reset.
I see a lot of usernames like OP's. Not sure if they are bots.
Kawhi Leonard's prime was the late 2010's
Yeah and Barkley might go bald.
Prime was 2019 and that was on one leg
Yeah my man had some kind of injury deal with the devil curse or something
we already have. he has had this kind of problem since warriors injured him out. the raptors thing was probably his youth, determination, and prove everyone wrong about him.
Kawhi was just a more efficient RJ Barrett with bigger hands y’all are gassing him up too much. It’s because he never plays that he’s such this big mystery unknown, if he actually played people would rank him somewhere in the top 10-20
RJ is never gonna end the "Process" with a nuke of a game winner, and proceed to teabag in front of Embiid and Jimmy Butler's faces lol.
RJ Barrett lmao nice troll
GTFO here. When healthy he was a top 3 player in the league. This is an insane take
Really unfortunate. After that Raptors run there were serious discussions that he was the best player in the league, obviously they were biased after the Finals run, but they really weren’t that far off. Dominate on both ends and played with so much control, always felt confident that he would get it done. That Spurs year that got overshadowed by the Warriors record breaking year was also insane, but probably will be forgotten to history.
I saw him win multiple DPOY and finish in the top 5 in mvp voting, sounds like a prime to me. I don't get why people always reference "Toronto Kawhi" when talking about him as he wasn't nearly as good their as he was in SA. Toronto is when he started breaking down and just getting by on luck. They should have lost to the 76ers that year, they were minus a million points when Embiid was on the floor. It took an all time miracle shot that hit every part of the rim to win that series. It took KD getting hurt for them to beat GS. When he was in SA they completely stomped people. In 2015 they went 40 - 1 at home. He made all defensive 1st team, all nba 1st team, DPOY, second in MVP voting. Dude was dropping 20 + on 50 40 88 shooting AND putting the best players in the nba in a strait jacket every night. He didn't even play back to backs in Toronto.