A New Player Has Emerged Over Kawhi Leonard as Leader of LA Clippers

Even though the Clippers have a few stars with over a decade of experience, the team needs someone to step up as a leader if they want to be successful. Even though two-time NBA Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard is LA's best player, his co-star is seemingly stepping up as the team's top leader.

Yardbarker's Michael Hanich recently wrote about Harden stepping up as a leader rather than Leonard.

"Leonard is a quiet but supportive locker room player, but the Clippers needed more. They believe they’ve found that player in Harden," Hanich wrote. "Harden has pushed his teammates and coaches to be at their best in pursuit of getting to the NBA Finals."

While talking to the media recently, Harden showed a glimpse of that reported leadership by outlining the Clippers' goals and taking some responsibility for the team's lofty goals.

"This is a tough conference that we're in... This year, we know what we have, we've just got to put it together," Harden said. "At the end of the regular season, we want to put ourselves in a position to have a good postseason run. So it’s very, very vital for us to get off to a good start. And it starts with me and Kawhi.”