Raptors' Norman Powell Compares Kawhi Leonard to Kobe Bryant After Win vs. 76ers

Kawhi Leonard has been nothing short of spectacular in the Eastern Conference Semifinals, averaging 38 points and nine rebounds per game while shooting a preposterous 62 percent from the field against the Philadelphia 76ers. It's to the point where he's being compared to some of the game's greats.

"It's Kobe [Bryant]," Raptors guard Norman Powell said of Leonard's Game 4 performance after a 101-96 win Sunday, per Bruce Arthur of the Toronto Star. "That man is Kobe. He's a superstar, man. He gets after it. He doesn't care who's in front of him. He knows what he's worth, he knows what he can do ... superstars in the league—Kevin Durant, James Harden—he's up with those guys."

The key moment of the game came with a little over a minute left in the fourth quarter. Leonard had the ball outside the three-point line with the shot clock running low. Between two defenders, he rose up for a contested three and splashed it, giving the Raptors a four-point lead.

KAWHI CLUTCH 3

00:29

Powell wasn't surprised he made it. He never believed he'd miss:

"Kobe. It's good. That's what I was saying after he made that. Even when he went up, side-step fadeaway, nothing but net, that's Kobe right there. He was confident in it. You don't see him rushed. You see him look up at the clock before it, he created space, he let it fly.

"I mean, he's not worried, man. He's really calm, he's really patient, he doesn't get sped up. Even when he had a late turnover where he dribbled off his foot ... you see guys holding their head, get upset a little bit. But he's going to come right back at you."

Even Sixers head coach Brett Brown brought up Bryant when talking about Leonard's Game 4 performance (39 points, 14 rebounds, five assists, 13-of-20 from the field, 5-of-7 from three).

"He's punishing, for sure," he said. "You know, the stuff that he can get off, and we had two people out there [on the three], the stuff that he can do to create his own shot is Kobe-like, for me. To your question about who can guard him, funny enough, with our wings, I think we've done a decent job on him ... at the end of the day, that's a hell of a playoff game."

The comparison isn't perfect. From a personality standpoint, Leonard and Bryant couldn't be much different. Leonard is quiet and reserved; Bryant was never afraid to speak his mind. But Leonard's steady and consistent dissection of the 76ers defense this postseason has been reminiscent of many of the game's greats, and he's doing it while playing suffocating defense on Ben Simmons and Jimmy Butler.

If it weren't for Leonard's legendary series to this point, the Raptors wouldn't have a chance against a talented Sixers team. But he hasn't shown any signs of faltering to this point as the series shifts back to Toronto for Tuesday's Game 5, even at two games apiece.