Cross-era · careers 28 years apart

Elvin Hayes vs Kawhi Leonard

Elvin Hayes 1968-1983 · Forward Kawhi Leonard 2011-2025 · Forward · active

Elvin Hayes (1968-1983) and Kawhi Leonard (2011-2025) never shared an NBA court — their careers are separated by 28 years, so this is a cross-era comparison, not a head-to-head. On the floor, Elvin Hayes was the higher-volume scorer (21.0 points per game to 20.7); adjusted for era they scored at 1.97× and 2.03× their league average respectively; Kawhi Leonard was the more efficient scorer (67.2% true shooting to 49.2%). Kawhi Leonard holds the edge on accolades — 2 championships, 2 Finals MVPs and the #27 all-time ranking to Elvin Hayes's #42.

Career averages

Elvin HayesStatKawhi Leonard
21.0 Points / game 20.7
12.5 Rebounds / game 6.4
1.8 Assists / game 3.1
0.7 Steals / game 1.7
1.4 Blocks / game 0.6
45.2% Field goal % 49.9%
4.5% 3-point % 38.9%
67.0% Free throw % 85.0%
49.2% True shooting % 67.2%
1,303 Games played 798

Era-adjusted (× league average of their era)

Elvin HayesStatKawhi Leonard
1.97× Points vs era avg 2.03×
2.57× Rebounds vs era avg 1.55×
0.78× Assists vs era avg 1.36×

Advanced metrics

Advanced stats weren't tracked in Elvin Hayes's era.

Elvin HayesStatKawhi Leonard
— Offensive rating 115.0
— Defensive rating 105.0
— Net rating 10.0
— Usage % 33.5%
— Assist % 21.0%
— Rebound % 11.5%

Playoff averages

Elvin HayesStatKawhi Leonard
22.9 Points / game 21.5
13.0 Rebounds / game 7.8
1.9 Assists / game 3.0
1.0 Steals / game 1.8
2.3 Blocks / game 0.7
46.4% Field goal % 51.3%
0.0% 3-point % 40.2%
65.2% Free throw % 80.2%
96 Playoff games 146

Accolades

Elvin HayesStatKawhi Leonard
0 MVP awards 0
0 Finals MVP 2
1 Championships 2
12 All-Star selections 7
3 All-NBA 1st Team 3
#42 All-time GOAT rank #27

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