Kawhi Leonard Outranks Kevin Durant Because Former NBA Guard ‘Never Seen KD Carry a Team’
· Yahoo Sports
Kawhi Leonard‘s trade to Toronto finally became official this week, ending a long offseason standoff. The Los Angeles Clippers and Toronto Raptors agreed on the deal in June, but league officials froze the move to conduct a salary cap investigation.
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With Leonard avoiding a game suspension, the transaction was cleared to proceed. Now that he is back on the team where he won a title in his lone year, the debate over where he ranks among his era’s best is back too.
Marquis Teague ranks Kawhi Leonard above Kevin Durant
Former NBA guard Marquis Teague recently made a case comparing Leonard with Kevin Durant that is already drawing major attention around the league.
Dec 23, 2025; Inglewood, California, USA; Los Angeles Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard (2) shoots the ball over Houston Rockets forward Kevin Durant (7) during the first quarter at Intuit Dome. Mandatory Credit: Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images“Kawhi Leonard is better than Kevin Durant to me,” he said on the “520 in the Morning” podcast. “I’ve never seen KD carry a team like that… If he was on that Toronto team, they wouldn’t have won.”
The “that Toronto team” reference points to the 2019 Raptors, the squad Leonard carried to a championship in his lone season in Canada. Toronto originally acquired the two-time champion from the San Antonio Spurs.
“Kawhi Leonard is better than Kevin Durant to me. I’ve never seen KD carry a team like that… If he was on that Toronto team, they wouldn’t have won.“
– Marquis Teague
(h/t @TheNBABase / @club520podcast ) pic.twitter.com/1zMvQJDnTD
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) September 15, 2026
He responded with a Finals MVP run highlighted by his iconic Game 7 buzzer-beater against Philadelphia. Leonard averaged 30.5 points in that postseason as the clear No. 1 option on a roster that hadn’t won a championship before.
Teague argues that Durant, for all his individual scoring numbers, has never had to shoulder a title run the same way. Durant did lead a young Thunder team to the 2012 Finals before losing to Miami. He’s won two championships with Golden State, but both came alongside Stephen Curry on a roster built as a strong contender.
Not surprisingly, the take drew immediate pushback from fans online. Detractors quickly pointed out that comparing the two sells Durant short, citing his status as a top-15 all-time scorer, his 2012 Thunder Finals run, and his two rings with the Warriors.
Meanwhile, the 35-year-old Leonard heads into the upcoming season looking to start a new chapter with the Raptors after averaging 27.9 points per game in his final year with the Clippers.