Kawhi Leonard Should Be a 2026 NBA All-Star Over These 4 Players, Especially LeBron James

On Sunday, the NBA announced the 2026 All-Star reserves.

In the East, there was nothing particularly surprising. Donovan Mitchell, Jalen Johnson, Karl-Anthony Towns, Pascal Siakam, Norman Powell, Scottie Barnes and Jalen Duren all got the nod.

In the West, not seeing Kawhi Leonard's name among the All-Stars was almost shocking.

While most of those selected as reserves at least have an argument, none is as strong as Kawhi's. It's tough to nitpick Anthony Edwards, Jamal Murray or Kevin Durant getting in, but Chet Holmgren, Devin Booker and Deni Avdija are tough to justify over Leonard. And LeBron James getting a spot over him is flat-out ridiculous.

Below, you'll find out why.

Kawhi vs. Chet

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Again, there's an argument for Chet to be in this one. A pretty good one, actually.

Catch-all metrics view him as a top-15 player this season, and he's doing that for a first-place team on pace for 64 wins. He's also the Oklahoma City Thunder's defensive anchor, and they're tops in the league on that end.

But a head-to-head comparison of Leonard's numbers with Chet's is pretty jarring.

Leonard: 27.7 points, 6.1 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 2.1 steals, 2.1 turnovers, 0.6 blocks, 62.8 true shooting percentage, 5.7 EPM, 3.9 net rating (10.6 swing)

Holmgren: 17.8 points, 8.6 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 0.6 steals, 1.7 turnovers, 2.0 blocks, 66.0 true shooting percentage, 5.2 EPM, 13.9 net rating (2.8 swing)

Beyond the numbers, though Holmgren's job certainly isn't easy, Leonard's is fundamentally more difficult. He's the alpha. He has to face the opposition's best perimeter defender every night. Chet gets to be in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's orbit. Almost 70 percent of his makes are assisted. For Leonard, that number is 42.5.

Chet has appeared in nine more games than Kawhi. If that's your tiebreaker, that's understandable. But these resumes weren't really tied.

Kawhi vs. Booker

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With Devin Booker, we're at least looking at someone with a role similar to Leonard's. He's the clear No. 1 scorer and has to face the opposition's toughest defender or most specific scheming.

And while the Los Angeles Clippers started the season as one of the league's most disappointing teams, the Phoenix Suns have consistently been one of its most pleasant surprises.

But the comparison on this one is, once again, kind of ridiculous.

Leonard: 27.7 points, 6.1 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 2.1 steals, 2.1 turnovers, 0.6 blocks, 62.8 true shooting percentage, 5.7 EPM, 3.9 net rating (10.6 swing)

Booker: 25.4 points, 4.0 rebounds, 6.2 assists, 0.9 steals, 3.3 turnovers, 0.3 blocks, 58.0 true shooting percentage, 2.2 EPM, 5.2 net rating (4.1 swing)

The biggest distinction between these two doesn't really show up in the numbers either. Leonard is still, pretty clearly, a plus defender. He leads the league in steals per game and can blanket an opponent's best scorer. Booker's been better this year than he typically is, but that just means he's been a solid cog in the system. Leonard's often a standout.

Kawhi vs. Avdija

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Avdija getting his first All-Star nod is a cool story.

The Portland Trail Blazers are better than they were supposed to be, and his breakout as a star-level point forward is the primary reason why.

But his team is actually losing his non-garbage time minutes. He averages less than half as many steals as Kawhi, while also averaging almost twice as many turnovers.

Those numbers and Kawhi's slight edge in scoring efficiency should've been more than enough to make up for Avdija's advantages on the boards and in the assist column.

Leonard: 27.7 points, 6.1 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 2.1 steals, 2.1 turnovers, 0.6 blocks, 62.8 true shooting percentage, 5.7 EPM, 3.9 net rating (10.6 swing)

Avdija: 25.5 points, 7.2 rebounds, 6.7 assists, 0.8 steals, 3.9 turnovers, 0.6 blocks, 61.0 true shooting percentage, 2.6 EPM, -0.6 net rating (6.3 swing)

You'd think for the spots determined by a coach's vote, Kawhi's legacy would've helped. First-timers typically need a blindingly obvious case to get in over a vet. And that's just not present here.

Of course, this year brings the added wrinkle of the event needing eight international players. So, with Avdija being able to check that box, this comparison may be moot.

That shouldn't be a big deal, because the most obviously wrong call is up next.

Kawhi vs. LeBron

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The veteran bump obviously helped here, because there simply isn't an objective case to have LeBron in the All-Star game over Leonard.

Leonard: 27.7 points, 6.1 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 2.1 steals, 2.1 turnovers, 0.6 blocks, 62.8 true shooting percentage, 5.7 EPM, 3.9 net rating (10.6 swing)

James: 21.9 points, 5.8 rebounds, 6.6 assists, 1.1 steals, 2.9 turnovers, 0.6 blocks, 58.8 true shooting percentage, 0.6 EPM, -1.5 net rating (-2.6 swing)

Of course, it's impressive that LeBron is doing this at 41 years old. And it's understandable that coaches might want to reward his longevity with an All-Star appearance.

But putting him in over Kawhi (or really, any of the aforementioned All-Stars) doesn't tell an accurate story of this season. LeBron simply isn't one of the 24 best players in the league anymore.

Advanced numbers say only Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Nikola Jokić, Luka Dončić and Donovan Mitchell have been better than Kawhi this season. They have LeBron outside the top 50.

Leonard not being named an All-Star is more than a snub. It's a farce.