The Tape
Was Kawhi Leonard better than Jayson Tatum?
Kawhi Leonard, 2011-present, against Jayson Tatum, 2017-present. The numbers levelled to one league, then the call.
Method, stated plainly: scoring is adjusted to a league averaging 114 points per team per game. Rebounds and assists are printed as they were recorded, with the league scoring rate beside them, because a rebound in 1962 came out of a different number of missed shots and we will not pretend one multiplier fixes that. Career lines for active players run through 2024-25.
What the numbers say
Adjusted to a league averaging 114 points a game, Jayson Tatum is the bigger scorer: 29.9 a game in 2022-23 against 27.5 for Kawhi Leonard in 2016-17. That is a real gap of 2.4 points, not an era illusion — Jayson Tatum's league averaged 114.7 and Kawhi Leonard's averaged 105.6.
Jayson Tatum wins the glass by 3 rebounds a game (8.8 to 5.8), which in his era meant standing in traffic rather than waiting for a long one.
Kawhi Leonard: Two Finals MVPs with 2 franchises, built on footwork and hands rather than speed. Jayson Tatum: A title, 7 straight conference finals appearances, and a 3-point volume no forward of the 1990s could have imagined.
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