Kawhi Leonard is so excited. He just can't hide it. (USATSI)
Kawhi Leonard is so excited. He just can't hide it. (USATSI)

Though we like to ascribe a sense of inevitability to everything the Spurs do, even they would admit they didn't see this coming from Kawhi Leonard. Oh, they certainly liked him before the draft -- they traded a well-liked rotation piece and potential Tony Parker successor to grab him -- but they didn't see him becoming a go-to scoring in the playoffs, like he has been.

For the second year in a row, that is exactly what Leonard is doing. However, unlike last year, when he exploded in a dominant all-around performance against the Heat to become the Finals MVP, this isn't quite coming out of nowhere.

Only time can tell how Leonard's playoff run this season will end, but he's off to a heck of a start. Through four games against the Clippers, Leonard is averaging 24.8 points, 6.5 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 3.0 combined steals and blocks per game; those are the kinds of numbers that could vault him into the conversation for No. 1 overall Fantasy pick next June.

Even if he can't sustain that, Leonard has obviously changed his Fantasy outlook for the better. Can you justify making him your first-round pick next season? I think there is a very good argument to be made in that regard.  

Leonard wasn't quite worth a first-round pick in Rotisserie scoring formats this season; he finished 18th overall, just behind teammate Tim Duncan in that category. The biggest factor limiting him at this point is his health; he missed 18 games this season, bringing his running total over the last three to 58, as a result of various maladies. Still, 18th is pretty good for someone who missed 22 percent of the season.

And it might actually be underselling him. Leonard didn't get off to a great start this season because an eye infection really seemed to limit him. When he went down with a hand injury, Leonard ended up missing more than a month of action, but really made up for lost time upon his return.

Leonard averaged 17 points, 7.0 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 2.5 steals, 0.7 blocks and 1.1 3-pointers per game over the final 42 games of the season. If he was able to sustain those averages across 70 games for a full season, Leonard would have rated out as the seventh-most valuable player in Roto scoring last season, without accounting for position. And that doesn't account for the fact that Leonard could play more than 70 games and move up even further.

Leonard has had first-round upside for years in Roto, but had never put it all together like this before, and certainly not for this long. The future is now with Leonard, and he should absolutely be on your radar as a first-round pick next season.