How Many Rings Does Kawhi Have During His Career?

Kawhi Leonard is a strange player. His presence on stage is undeniable. With a natural physique and comprehensive skills in both defense and attack, Leonard is a bright star in the NBA tournament. So, let’s dig deeper with Scott Fujita about how many rings does kawhi have?

How Many Rings Does Kawhi Have?

In his nine-and-a-half-year career, Kawhi Leonard has risen to the top twice. He is the owner of 2 NBA championship titles. Additionally, Kawhi was also the finals MVP in both of those wins.

How many championships does Kawhi Leonard have?

1. Kawhi Leonard Profile

Kawhi Leonard is a potential small forward player. He has the perfect physique for this position: 6 feet 7 inches (2.01m) tall and weighs 230 pounds (104kg).

However, not only has the strength of the body, but Kawhi also shines thanks to his sharpness and proficient skills.

Thanks to that flexibility, Kawhi Leonard is the brightest face that coaches often choose in the defensive team. Leonard has enough flexibility to cover as few as three positions. 

In addition, he received a lot of credit for carrying out the deployment plan against the opponent’s star player.

Kawhi Leonard won the NBA Defensive Player of the Year title for two consecutive seasons to prove his strength. It is the 2014-15 season and 2015-16 season. 

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Leonard was also the first non-center player to win this award since Sidney Moncrief in 1984. Back then, Kawhi Leonard’s name became a household name on NBA Defensive Teams All-Star rosters.

However, Kawhi Leonard’s career is more than just being an excellent defender and ballplayer. 

From the 2015-16 season onwards, Leonard began taking an offensive position in the game. He quickly established himself as one of the most efficient scorers in the league.

Kawhi Leonard’s playstyle is very flexible. His ability to score from average distances and 3 points is formidable. In addition, Leonard is also very good at closing in on opponents and shooting long jumps.

Kawhi Leonard’s most significant weakness is probably his playing skills. During the first eight seasons, Leonard’s average of assists per game didn’t exceed 3.5. 

However, in the 2019-20 season, he had a breakthrough. Kawhi Leonard averages 4.9 assists per game, a considerable improvement.

2. Kawhi Leonard Career Snapshot

Kawhi Leonard’s performance is 19.2, 6.4, 2.9, 1.8 for PPG (points per game), RPG, APG and SPG. Born on June 29, 1991, Kawhi Leonard is a young player in the NBA league.

When he entered the NBA Draft for the first time in 2011, he was still a mystery. No one can deny his natural defense and physique. But that is not enough. They are curious about Kawhi Leonard’s ability to attack and score points.

In his first season, Kawhi Leonard joined the San Antonio Spurs in a deal. It was a memorable rookie year for him as Leonard finished fourth on the NBA All-Rookie First Team roster.

However, at this time, Kawhi Leonard is still not the seed that the audience expects to become a star. The players above him on that list also have outstanding achievements later on. They are Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili, and Hall of Famer Tim Duncan.

But in the second season, he improved his ability. Kawhi Leonard raised his points per game to 4 and entered the NBA finals in 2013. 

However, the San Antonio Spurs suffered a bitter loss to the Miami Heat. It was a game where Kawhi averaged 14 points with 11 rebounds.

The third season changed Kawhi Leonard’s career. Before the 2014 NBA Finals, Leonard’s PPG was 11 points. Since then, his PPG has increased to 23 points. After spending time with the San Antonio Spurs, the Toronto Raptors are his new destination.

Kawhi Leonard’s time with the Toronto Raptors is not long. But here, he had sublime matches to win the NBA championship. This title is also the first championship title for the Toronto Raptors.

Currently, Kawhi Leonard is a player for the Los Angeles Clippers. More than anyone else, he is trying to get the third ring in his career.

To learn more about Kawhi Leonard’s gameplay and achievements, check out this video. It will summarize for you Leonard’s journey and achievements, including NBA championships and finals MVP.

Related: Who has the most NBA rings

3. The NBA Championships of Kawhi Leonard

While we can’t say Kawhi Leonard’s time at the San Antonio Spurs was his prime, there’s no denying it either. 

Not every player will be successful at the Spurs. Partly because the team’s head coach – Greg Popovich – promotes teamwork. And a few stars appreciate personal competence above all else.

When Kawhi joined the Toronto Raptors, he was very different. The team gave him a chance to shine on the court. The titles that Leonard achieved are at other times. However, people still appreciate Kawhi Leonard’s performance very highly after all this time.

Leonard with the San Antonio Spurs.

The 1st Ring: 2013-14 Season

In 2014, the San Antonio Spurs and Miami Heat had intense seven-game NBA finals. The audience was very excited before the performance of the two teams.

However, this was not Kawhi Leonard’s prime. The reason is that he only scored about 12 points per game to advance to the playoffs. Leonard had a solid run of form in the first three rounds of the playoffs, but things improved after that.

In the first two games of the final, Kawhi Leonard showed no difference with a PPG of 9. He then bounced back in the next three games. Kawhi Leonard averaged 24 points per game to become the Finals MVP.

Not only is he capable of scoring challenging goals, but he is also up to the task in other positions. Kawhi Leonard’s shot rate from long distance is 60%. Along with teammate LeBron James, the two formed a close duo.

But the next four years with the San Antonio Spurs did not end well. Kawhi Leonard’s teammates began to decline in form, and the young players were still not ready to move forward. Then, because of the controversy surrounding his injury management, Kawhi Leonard parted ways with the San Antonio Spurs.

Leonard with the Toronto Raptors.

The 2nd Ring: 2018-19 Season

The Toronto Raptors changed their defense for the 2018-19 season. They decided to replace DeMar DeRozan with Kawhi Leonard. This decision surprised many people because DeMar was a bright star at that time.

However, the decision of the Toronto Raptors was ultimately a wise one. The desire for the title was one of the factors that transformed Kawhi Leonard into a monster on the court.

Kawhi Leonard and the Toronto Raptors also had a rough win over Milwaukee as they were 2-0 down. But in the end, he made it through to make it to the finals.

Things seem simple for the Toronto Raptors when their opponent is the Golden State Warriors. The team is currently having personnel problems when the leading player, Kevin Durant, is injured. The Toronto Raptors ultimately won 4-2 on aggregate over the Golden State Warriors.

This season’s Leonard Kawhi has grown up with excellent game control. He had a performance of 30 PPG throughout the season. In the final against the Golden State Warriors, Kawhi Leonard shined to claim the Finals MVP title for the second time in his career.

Future NBA Championship?

Will Leonard have his third championship ring with the Clippers?

Currently, Kawhi Leonard is playing for the Los Angeles Clippers. 

However, the 2019-20 season was an unsuccessful season for Leonard. He got off to a good start in training camp and the regular season but then fell short. 

The Denver Nuggets defeated the Clippers 3-1. It was the period that Kawhi Leonard wanted to forget the most because of his weak expressions. He only hit 14 PPG.

However, until now, Kawhi Leonard is still walking with the Los Angeles Clippers. Everyone expected Leonard to lead this team into the first NBA finals in history. 

There are a few hiccups as he is currently injured and has to end the 2021-23 season in bitterness. But we still have the right to dream, right?

If Kawhi can manage the Clippers as he did with the Spurs and the Raptors, he will write his name down in history.

Final Thoughts

Although we cannot equate Kawhi Leonard with legendary players or GOAT, we cannot deny his talent. Leonard proves that he can steer the team to the championship. Hopefully, in the future, we will see more growth and sublimation in Leonard’s career.