Getty Image / Chris Coduto
Things could not have started out much better for the Los Angeles Clippers in their first round playoff series against the Phoenix Suns.
They stole Game 1 at Footprint Center to flip home-court advantage in the series and jumped out to a double digit lead in the first half of Game 2.
It has really gone downhill since.
The Suns erased that lead by halftime of the second game and ended up winning by 14.
Then Kawhi Leonard was ruled out for Game 3. The Suns ended up taking that one to flip the series back in their favor.
Kawhi missing that pivotal game has led to Stephen A Smith sharing a brutal take on the Clippers star.
According to Stephen A, Kawhi should be on a list of the worst superstars in NBA history.
"Kawhi Leonard should be on the list of one of the worst superstars this game has ever seen." —@stephenasmith 👀 pic.twitter.com/Q9dzgDiSxz
— First Take (@FirstTake) April 21, 2023
In the 4 seasons since Kawhi Leonard joined the Los Angeles Clippers, the move has definitely not lived up to the hype.
They have yet to make it to an NBA Finals and they didn’t even make the playoffs last year.
However, putting him on a list of the worst superstars ever completely disregards what he accomplished before heading to LA.
Before he was ever seen as a superstar, Kawhi won his first ring and a Finals MVP over LeBron’s Miami Heat with an aging San Antonio Spurs team around him.
After that, he kept the Spurs around the top of the Western Conference as the rest of their stars started to decline and even appeared poised to dethrone the Warriors after they acquired Kevin Durant until Zaza Pachulia’s foot intervened.
A couple of years later he headed to a Toronto Raptors franchise that had never won a ring and lacked any real star power and led them to a title over a Warriors team that was expected to dominate them in the Finals.
Kawhi’s time with the Clippers also started out pretty well. He led the team to the West’s 2nd best record in his first season before the league headed into the bubble.
Since then, Kawhi has struggled with injuries and has missed some of the team’s biggest games, but everything he accomplished before he ever joined their franchise should just about ensure he is nowhere near the worst superstars in league history.