Kawhi Leonard Selected for Random Drug Test Minutes After MVP Performance Against Rockets

Kawhi Leonard was asked to take a random drug test minutes after putting up an MVP-like performance against the Rockets on Monday night.

Kawhi Leonard leads Spurs to win over Rockets.
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Image via USA TODAY Sports/Soobum Im

Kawhi Leonard leads Spurs to win over Rockets.

On Monday afternoon, we argued that Kawhi Leonard definitely belongs in the NBA MVP conversation this season alongside James Harden, Russell Westbrook, and LeBron James. On Monday night, the Spurs star made us look like geniuses by going out and scoring 39 points in an MVP-like performance against the Rockets. That performance included a 6.5-second span at the end of the game that featured Leonard hitting a go-ahead 3-pointer and then blocking Harden’s shot on the defensive end of the court to seal a 112-110 win for San Antonio:

But Leonard’s night didn’t end there. Minutes after the final buzzer, he was scheduled to make a press conference appearance to talk about his masterful game. But the NBA got to him first and told him that he had been randomly—er, "randomly"?—selected to take a drug test. And in a bizarre twist to the night, it took Leonard a little longer than usual to provide a sample for that test because he was suffering from slight dehydration after playing 39 minutes against Houston.

Eventually, Leonard did get around to making his way to the podium at his press conference. And in typical Kawhi Leonard fashion, he didn’t have a whole lot to say about the great game he played. He credited the Rockets with "hitting shots, big shots" at the end before saying that the only thought going through his mind after hitting his clutch 3-pointer was "get back and get a stop."

But that’s okay. Leonard let his play do his talking. And his head coach Gregg Popovich took care of speaking on what makes him such a special player after the game.

"The block [at the end of the game] is what makes him special," Popovich said. "Obviously, the 3, you know Harden makes 3s. Kawhi makes 3s. This guy makes 3s, that guy makes 3s. Steph [Curry] makes 3s. Everybody does that. But I don’t know who goes to the other end and does what he does—not that many people on a consistent basis, and entire game, game after game."

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If Leonard wasn’t already in the MVP race before Monday night, he deserves to be in it now. How can you ignore what he’s been able to do thus far this season?

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