Kawhi Leonard’s impact reminds Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry of Michael Jordan’s

With a swish on one end and a swipe on the other, Kawhi Leonard reigns supreme as arguably the NBA’s best two-way wing. And it’s not just his own head coach who’s taken notice, either.

New Orleans Pelicans head coach Alvin Gentry praised Leonard on both the offensive and defensive sides of the ball, falling just short of comparing San Antonio’s star to a Hall of Famer revered as the greatest of all time.

“You don’t want to say Michael Jordan,” New Orleans coach Alvin Gentry said on Sunday, according to the San Antonio Express-News’ Jeff McDonald, “but it is that type of situation where you have a really, really good offensive player and a tremendous defensive player.

“He definitely has to be heavily in the conversation for MVP.”

Gentry isn’t the first coach to publicly laud the Spurs All-Star. In January, Timberwolves coach Tom Thibodeau also called Leonard an MVP candidate.

“When you look at All-Stars and MVPs, you look at what they do for their team in winning. There are people that can get stats, but they don’t contribute to winning,” Thibodeau said, per AP’s Raul Dominguez. “He does everything to help his team win. ... He’s at the top every year. He’s very disruptive and the demeanor he plays with.”

Warriors coach Steve Kerr also took a moment to sound off about Leonard last season.

“We always talk about two-way players and how important it is, especially in the modern NBA, where you can’t hide a guy at either end,” Kerr said last January, according to CSN Bay Area. “He’s probably the best two-way player in the league now.

“You have to deal with him in all kinds of different ways. He’s a terror on defense, and offensively he’s gotten better and better. His 3-point shooting is really, really good. And he’s so strong that he can score around the rim. He’s a great player, and it’s kind of slowly but surely become his team in a lot of ways.”

Leonard is averaging 26.1 points per game on 48 percent shooting from the field and 38 percent shooting from downtown. Defensively, he holds opponents to below 44 percent shooting outside of the paint, according to NBA.com stats.

The Spurs outscore opponents by 9.3 points per 100 possessions with Leonard on the floor and, in doing so, have built a 48-13 record, challenging the Golden State Warriors for the West’s No. 1 seed.

The NBA Most Valuable Player race is deservedly headlined by James Harden and Russell Westbrook, who have each gone on historic runs this season. But Leonard has silently snuck into the conversation once again.

And in the likely outcome he doesn’t win the award, it’ll be playoff time when Leonard’s play does all the talking.