Kawhi Leonard could quickly outplay his ESPN NBA player rank with Raptors

Kawhi Leonard was ranked 15th in ESPN's NBA player rankings, while Toronto Raptors teammate Scottie Barnes placed 17th. Barnes climbed from 30th the previous year to edge out LeBron James, giving Toronto two top-20 players on its roster heading into the season.

ESPN analyst Brian Windhorst argued that Leonard's ranking is too low, suggesting injury uncertainty depressed his placement despite high-level performance. Leonard would need to surpass players like Jaylen Brown, Kevin Durant, Stephen Curry, and Tyrese Maxey to enter the top ten.