Scouts invoke "Prime Kawhi Leonard" in recent Cooper Flagg comparison

"Less is more" used to be a very popular phrase in the lexicon of our country. It was commonplace to sell expectations low in many walks of life for several reasons. You didn't want to get someone's hopes up, you left yourself wiggle room to change your mind, and sometimes, it was to the benefit of an individual you didn't want to heap larger-than-life expectations on.

That's not the case anymore. Society has shifted to one of abundance—even with our opinions—and we always have to go too far. A recent example is the anonymous executive who said Victor Wembanyama didn't have any impact on the offense. He could have just said something about wanting to see more from the Alien, but he went from zero to sixty and looked foolish because of it.

As we draw closer to the NBA draft, Cooper Flagg is the talk of the town. He's a beast and has lived up to his billing as the top prospect in the country. With that being said, he was recently compared to "Prime Kawhi Leonard," and I have a small problem with that because words matter.

Prime Kawhi Leonard is one of the best players ever

When Leonard began to hit his prime, he was being compared to Michael Jordan. Fans argued over whether Kawhi was on the same level as LeBron James and Kevin Durant. It shouldn't have been a debate, though. The obvious answer should have been a resounding "yes."

Flagg certainly has similarities in his game to the Klaw, but that's all the executive had to say. It would have been enough to make a point of how awesome Cooper will be. When you throw the word "prime" in there, you're talking about a different animal, so let's be clear about who Prime Kawhi Leonard was.

First, you should understand that when Leonard was coming out of San Diego State, his NBA comparisons were Luc Richard Mbah a Moute and Gerald Wallace. Those comps are laughable now when you look at how Kawhi's career has unfolded.

The six-time all-star is one of the rare stars whose efficiency improves in the playoffs. It's a common misconception that all of the best players elevate their game when the postseason rolls around, but that's not true. Shooting percentages often take a slight dip in the playoffs due to the intensified defenses teams face.

However, Leonard's percentages went up. He's received MVP votes in six different seasons and is a two-time Defensive Player of the Year winner. Leonard was the reason Spurs fans felt confident going up against the Golden State Warriors during the start of their reign. In the ten regular season games San Antonio played GS from 2014-17, they were 5-5.

Both teams took turns blowing each other out, and when they finally met in the playoffs, the Spurs were blowing their doors off in game one before Leonard was injured by the infamous Zaza Pachulia play that changed the course of San Antonio's franchise. The Klaw had 26 points in 23 minutes that game before his exit.

The Warriors had Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, Kevin Durant, and Draymond Green in their primes, and they couldn't do anything to stop the two-headed monster that was Kawhi Leonard and LaMarcus Aldridge. LA deserves to be mentioned just because he was a problem for opponents to deal with because of the havoc Leonard wreaked. He did a great job of capitalizing on it.

There were games when it felt like #2 didn't miss a shot, and despite the amount of energy it takes to be that good on offense, he would still lock up the opposing team's best players. He would shut off entire sides of the floor because he was so good at stealing the ball, even if it wasn't his man who possessed it.

That was Prime Kawhi Leonard, and nobody should be compared to that version of the Klaw until they get into the league and have a chance to show that they can actually reach that height. It's pretty high up. Flagg will have enough pressure to perform without putting that kind of expectation on his shoulders. If he gets there, that's great, but if he doesn't, internet trolls will say that he failed to live up. That's not right.