Tim Duncan Comments on Kawhi Leonard’s Lack of Star Treatment from Referees

April 27th, 2016 by Joe Pantorno Leave a reply »

Over the past two years, San Antonio Spurs forward Kawhi Leonard has risen to stardom after winning the 2014 NBA Finals MVP, Defensive Player of the Year twice and garnering an All-Star selection in 2016.

But his future Hall of Fame teammate Tim Duncan doesn't think officials have given Leonard the respect he deserves. 

"He’s gotten to the point now where people are being a lot more physical with him, but people are still being allowed to get away with a whole lot of stuff,” Duncan told Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News on Wednesday. “That gets him fired up, and rightfully so. ... He’s trying to earn the respect of opponents, officials and everything else."

Leonard has put up the finest regular season of his five-year career with 21.2 points per game and a defensive win shares mark of 5.5, which trailed only the Atlanta Hawks' Paul Millsap (6.0), per Basketball-Reference.com. 

He also attempted 334 free throws, which ranked 30th among all players in the league, lower than many superstars. 



As Leonard has emerged as one of the top p ...

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