Strengths
Right-handed… A late-bloomer in high school, Leonard broke out onto the national scene with 17 double-doubles as a freshman, including a 16-point, 21-rebound performance as a string of three-straight double-doubles to end his first-year… He has unique talents as a versatile forward, capable of playing on the perimeter or as a low-post banger. He has a great, lengthy wingspan and big hands which allow him to play anywhere on the court. He has a smooth stroke out to the 3-point line, but he is even better at taking opposing forwards off the dribble, often powering his way straight to the rim… The most dominant part of Leonard's game is his rebounding prowess. He can explode off the ground with great ease and uses his length so well to make him a potent rebounder… His ball-handling skills are continuing to improve. He will become much tougher to guard offensively if he is comfortable handling the ball on the perimeter and adding in advanced ball moves such as a low cross-over or spin move to his arsenal could greatly affect Leonard's scoring output as he will have easier looks at the rim… He is still a developing offensive player who is aided by an incredible motor, mostly used to connect on put-back attempts around the rim…
Weaknesses
Leonard made a great decision to remain in school for his sophomore year to attempt to improve his all-around versatility. He needs to improve his consistency and range on his perimeter jumper after attempting 78 3-point attempts and connecting on only 16 of them. Leonard can also continue to develop his ball-handling and penetration abilities. Currently, he only really has the ability to slash in a straight line making his way to the rim, but if he can become more of a threat to cross the defender up or spin to the basket, he should get some much easier looks inside. Quicker defenders have given Leonard problems because they can recover quickly and get back in front of his bee-line drives… Leonard will have to continue to add strength to his frame. His lack of quickness has him as a bit of a "tweener" defensively, so he will need to cover both 3s and 4s at the next level.
