EMBRACING GREATNESS
ALL IS GOOD WITH KAWHI LEONARD THESE DAYS. WIN OR LOSE AND HE MAKES IT CLEAR HE’S THERE TO WIN FANS AND COLLECTORS SEEM TO HAVE DISCOVERED JUST HOW GOOD HE REALLY IS.
ALL IS GOOD WITH KAWHI LEONARD THESE DAYS. WIN OR LOSE AND HE MAKES IT CLEAR HE’S THERE TO WIN FANS AND COLLECTORS SEEM TO HAVE DISCOVERED JUST HOW GOOD HE REALLY IS.
Welcome back, Kawhi Leonard.
Despite a world championship ring won with the San Antonio Spurs in 2014 (in which he was named the NBA Finals MVP), an acrimonious split from the team after an injury-plagued 2017 18 season in which he played in just nine games turned off some and fractured his reputation to many Spurs fans.
en his trade to the We e North didn’t help his cause when he initially balked at being traded out of the country.
But anyone counting out Leonard was wrong. Really wrong. e 27-year-old has benefitted more than anyone else with his must-see-TV play in the NBA playoffs, which helped push the Raptors into the NBA Finals for the first time in the franchise’s 25-year history.
And those thunderous boos and chants of “Traitor” from the Spurs faithful during Leonard’s first return to
San Antonio? In the past. Kawhi has been able to laugh it off. And what an interesting laugh it is, by the way.
Since his dramatic corner shot that fell in a er four bounces around the rim, a shot that sent the dejected 76ers home for the summer, Kawhi’s cards have lit up like never before – both his 2012-13 Rookie Cards and his newer Raptors cards. Autographed cards, some dating back to his rookie season and some more recent, also had plenty of buyers.
Everybody, it seems, wants a piece of who Raptors president Masai Ujiri called the best player in the league while accepting the NBA East championship trophy a er eliminating the Bucks.
But Leonard, the ultimate “team guy,” tried to back off from that praise.
“I don’t really judge my game like that,” he said shortly thereafter. “I’m more of a team aspect, see what my team is doing. I just want to win. I don’t care about being the best player. I want to be the best team. I’ve always said that.”
Leonard and the Raptors entered the NBA Finals as a decided underdog to the powerful Golden State Warriors. But any hope the Raptors had came from Leonard. One man truly does make a difference.
Card collectors have certainly bought into Kawhi. And spending significant dollars is just all part of the game.