The San Antonio Spurs made quick work of the Memphis Grizzlies in the first round of the NBA playoffs and are now moving on to face the Oklahoma City Thunder in round two. The series between the Thunder and the Spurs is highly anticipated and should be hotly contested, as there is plenty of star power.
The Spurs had 67 wins in the regular season and were tremendous despite flying under the radar due to the Warriors historic season. If it weren't for Stephen Curry, the Spurs may actually have the leagues MVP, as Kawhi Leonard was that good this season.
Leonard has turned himself into a superstar in the NBA, and his resume is building up very quickly. The 24-year-old forward is in just his fifth NBA season, but he already has a Finals MVP, two Defensive Player of the Year Awards and an All-Star game appearance to his name. While Leonard's resume basically speaks for itself at this point, his teammate Tim Duncan still doesn't think that he gets the respect that he deserves around the league, specifically from officials.
"He's gotten to the point now where people are being a lot more physical with him, but people are still being allowed to get away with a whole lot of stuff," Duncan said. "That gets him fired up, and rightfully so."
Duncan is of the mindset that Leonard is a superstar in the NBA and that he deserves to get superstar calls. Of course, officials would never admit that they give superstars different treatment, but it's pretty obvious that they do. While Duncan feels as though the referees don't treat Leonard properly, Leonard doesn't seem to care. Leonard says that he doesn't even think about not getting calls and that he doesn't play to get fouls.
Whether Leonard is getting the calls or not, it doesn't seem to be affecting his play, as he is coming off a career-best regular season and he has turned into one of the top five players in the NBA. Even with how great Leonard was in the regular season, he was somehow even better in the first round of the playoffs. The forwards PER in round one was a whopping 38.0, which is an other-worldly number. The scary thing about Leonard is that he is extremely young and continues to improve every single year. If he starts to get the respect from the officials that Duncan thinks he deserves, and isn't getting now, then he may have to make room for a couple of MVP awards on his trophy case.
