Welcome back to "Pat's Top 25 NBA Players Countdown. Last week 2018 NBA MVP, James Harden and Superstar Anthony Davis were selected as the sixth and fifth best player in the NBA. 

Placing James Harden outside of the top five came with some scrutiny , especially since he has been a premier MVP candidate three of the past four seasons. I understand making the case that Harden is a top five player, so i'm not here to debate that. I do stand by my decision to place Anthony Davis over him, because Anthony Davis is a proven two-way player who's only 25 years of age. 

Now back to the list. Kawhi Leonard of the Toronto Raptors will be one of two players to be making an appearance on today's list. Although, he's coming off a quad injury that sidelined him for 73 games, I still believe when healthy he's a top four player in the league. 

Here's a recap of how the list is going so far.

*Honorable Mentions 

• C. Nikola Jokic *Denver Nuggets 
• C. Andre Drummond *Detroit Pistons 
• SG. Devin Booker *Phoenix Suns 
• PF. Kevin Love *Cleveland Cavaliers 
• PG. Kemba Walker *Charlotte Hornets 
• SG. C.J. McCollum *Portland Trail Blazers 

*Top 25 Players ranked #25-3 

• (25.) SG. Bradley Beal *Washington Wizards 
  
• (24.) C. Karl-Anthony Towns *Minnesota Timberwolves 
  
• (23.) PG. Kyle Lowry *Toronto Raptors 
  
• (22.)SG. Victor Oladipo *Indiana Pacers 
  
• (21.) C. Rudy Gobert *Utah Jazz 
  
• (20.) PF. LaMarcus Aldridge *San Antonio Spurs 
  
• (19.) PF. Draymond Green *Golden State Warriors 
  
• (18.) SG. DeMar Derozan * San Antonio Spurs 
  
• (17.) C. Joel Embiid *Philadelphia 76ers 
  
• (16.) PG. John Wall *Washington Wizards 
• (15.) SF. Paul George *Oklahoma City Thunder  
• (14.) SG. Jimmy Butler *Minnesota Timberwolves
  
  
• (13.) SG. Klay Thompson *Golden State Warriors 
  
• (12.) PG. Damian Lillard *Portland Trail Blazers 
  
• (11.) C. DeMarcus Cousins *Golden State Warriors 
  
• (10.) PG. Kyrie Irving *Boston Celtics 
  
• (9.) PG. Chris Paul *Houston Rockets 
  
• (8.) PF. Giannis Anteteokounmpo *Milwaukee Bucks 
  
• (7.) PG. Russell Westbrook *Oklahoma City Thunder 
  
• (6.) SG. James Harden *Houston Rockets 
  
• (5.) PF. Anthony Davis *New Orleans Pelicans 
  
• (4.) SF. Kawhi Leonard *Toronto Raptors 
  

Kawhi Leonard a.k.a. "The Klaw" is the fourth ranked player in the NBA. I understand that he's coming off a quad injury that limited him to only being able to play in nine games this past season , but when healthy , Leonard is the best two way player in the NBA. 

Leonard won the Finals MVP back in 2014 against the Miami Heat and from that moment on he has been a great player. 

Leonard numbers from the past three seasons , since I excluded last year has been steady. He is averaging , (21.0 Pts, 6.6 Rebs, 2.8 Ast, 2.0 Stls, 49 Fg%, 39 3pt% & 85 Ft%.) One may look at those numbers in comparisons to other top players around the league and say that his stats are that of a tier three player such as a Jimmy Butler and Paul George, but you couldn't be more wrong. 

Leonard was apart of an unselfish San Antonio Spurs system that relied on constant ball movement to find the best shot. He has never had the opportunity to be a ball dominant player, like other stars around the league , such as Russell Westbrook, James Harden, LeBron James and even Jimmy Butler, so of course he was not going to put up gaudy stats . The Klaw did however see his points per game increase each season. In 2015 he averaged (16.5 Pt), in 2016 (21.2 Pts) and in 2017 (25.5 Pts). He saw his Ppg increase while still shooting better than 48% and shooting no lower than 35% from the three-point line in that span, his highest season being 44% in 2016. 

Leonard accolades during this stretch his been amazing as well and would be even greater if he wasn't hurt before the All-Star break in 2015 and if he wasn't injured in 2018 , he would be a four time All-Star. He has made two All-Star games (2016,2017) started in each, two-time All-NBA first team (2016,2017) made it over Kevin Durant each season , three-time All-Defensive first team (2015-2017) , Steals leader (2015) and two-time Defensive Player of the Year (2015,2016). 

Leonard has finished top 10 in MVP votes three times (2015-2017) and finished top three two of those years (2016,2017). From 2015-2017, The Klaw has finished in the top six in Defensive Win Shares each season ,his best mark was coming in 2nd for the 2016 season. In 2016 and 2017 he has placed in the top seven for Offensive Win Shares and finished in the top eight in defensive win shares three straight years (2015-2017) , best season coming in 2015 where he finished first. 

All the advanced statistics show how valuable Kawhi Leonard was to the San Antonio franchise and the entire league. A player that can go get you 25 points, with nearly 50% from the field and can clamp down defensively is the type of player that every team wish they had.
Leonard has been a very good performer in the playoffs as well. In 2016, he averaged (22.5 Pts, 6.3 Rebs, 2.8 Ast, 2.6 Stls, 1.4 Blks, 50 Fg%, 43.6 3pt% &82.4 Ft)in the playoffs and led the Spurs to the second round before losing in six games to the Westbrook, KD and the Oklahoma City Thunder. In 2017 he was great in the playoffs, with a stat line of (27.7 Pts, 7.8 Rebs, 4.6 Ast,1.7 Stls, 52.5 Fg% ,45.5 3pt% and 93 Ft%). He had a duel with James Harden in their second round series , in which the Spurs ultimately won 4-2 and in game one against the Warriors in the 2017 Western Conference Finals he had 26 points to lead all scorers and had the Spurs up 76-55, before he tweaked his ankle after landing on Zaza Pachulia after a step-back jumper.
Leonard is no longer with the San Antonio Spurs after they traded him and Danny Green on July 18th for DeMar Derozan, Jakob Poeltl and a 2019 first round pick. Leonard is now apart of a team where he can perhaps showcase his skills more and this should bold well, as he is now apart of a 59 win team from last season. He's an upgrade over DeMar Derozan , so it's going to be interesting to see if Leonard can elevate the Raptors to championship status. 

• https://raptorsrapture.com/2018/07/20/kawhi-leonard-trade-raptors/
• https://www.basketball-reference.com/awards/awards_2017.html
• https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/l/leonaka01.html
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OK2pYVIwIDw
• https://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/201705140GSW.html

• (3.) PG. Stephen Curry *Golden State Warriors 
  

Stephen Curry is the GREATEST SHOOTER OF ALL TIME, at least from a basketball perspective, no disrespect to Bobby Lee Swagger.  

Curry holds the record for most three pointers made in a season with 402 made threes back in 2015-2016, the season in which he became the first unanimous MVP in NBA history. Curry has the 2nd and third most threes made in a season with 324 back in 2017 and 286 back in 2015. Still not impressed? He also has the fifth most  made three pointers made in a season with 272 back in 2013 , which is only four behind the fourth place member,  fellow splash brother Klay Thompson who  made 276 in 2016. 

Curry also had a 50-40-90 season in 2016. If you want to get technical he basically had a 50-40-90 season last year, as he shot 49% from the field, 42% from the 3-point line and 92% from the free throw line. It's amazing how great his field goal percentages are, because he's a relatively small player who plays for the most part beyond the arc. 

Stephen Curry has been prolific the past four seasons. He has a cumulative stat line of (26.4 Pts, 4.8 Rebs, 6.8 Ast, 1.8 Stls, 49 Fg%, 43 3pt% and 90.8 Ft). The Ppg and Apg would rank him third and t-7th over that span ,which is something only Russell Westbrook, James Harden and LeBron James could claim as being top seven in all those categories.  

Curry has finished first in Value over replacement twice (2015,2016) and finished 6th in 2017. Curry placed in the top eight in Win shares three of the past four seasons , with his best season coming in 2016 where he ranked number one. He finished top ten in player efficiency, three of the past four seasons ,with his best season being 31.5 in 2016, in which he had the best mark in the league. Also, Curry has placed in the top ten in the MVP voting each season, winning the award in 2015 and 2016. 

Curry has the accolades to back up his dominance. He has made the All-Star game each season (2015-2018), NBA Scoring champ (31.7 in 2016), NBA Steals leader (2.3 in 2016), two-time All-NBA first team (2015,2016), All-NBA second team (2017) , All-NBA third team in (2018) , two-time NBA MVP (2015,2016) and three-time NBA champion, (2015,2017,2018). 

The only thing missing from Curry's resume is the Finals MVP, but if you look at the stats and evaluate the games Curry should have won Finals MVP over teammate Andre Iguodala . Curry struggled in games two and three in the series, but he managed to start back making shots late in game three and that carried over to games 4-6. For the series , Curry averaged (26 Pts, 5.2 Rebs, 6.3 Ast, 1.8 Stls, 44 Fg%, 38.5 3pt% &88.5 Ft%) compared to Iguodala's, (16.3 Pts, 5.8 Rebs, 4.0 Ast, 1.3 Stls, 52 Fg%, 40 3pt% & 36 Ft%.). Although, Iggy played great , Curry deserved the award. Part of me feel that they wanted to give the award to Lebron James, because of his dominance in the Finals, but since they lost they awarded the guy who guarded him the most and held him to 39% shooting from the field. 

Curry got outplayed in the 2016 NBA Finals by Kyrie Irving and under-performed throughout the 2016 playoffs, "The Warriors blew a 3-1 lead" has been a chant since. That series lost permanently knocked Curry out of the discussion of being the best player in the league, especially since Kevin Durant signed to them and is now viewed as the better player on that team. 

Curry may not be the best player on the Warriors to most, but keep in mind Kevin Durant did decide to come join "His team". Curry makes the game easier for everyone, his ability to stretch the floor out '35' feet is what makes Golden State offense so dynamic. He changed the way the game is played today, you find a lot of Steph Curry imitators around the league, but nothing can be as pure as the original. 

• https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/c/curryst01.html
• https://www.basketball-reference.com/leaders/fg3_season.html
• https://www.basketball-reference.com/playoffs/2015-nba-finals-cavaliers-vs-warriors.html
• https://www.basketball-reference.com/playoffs/2016-nba-finals-cavaliers-vs-warriors.html
• https://www.basketball-reference.com/awards/awards_2017.html

There you have it. Let me how you feel about Kawhi and Steph being ranked inside the top five Is it a mistake? Is it justified? Don't be afraid to comment.