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OAKLAND, Calif. – From where Kawhi Leonard was sitting – on the post-game podium, his second most valuable NBA Finals Finals player, the champagne-soaked ski goggles resting on his crow – could have been easy to forget the winding and painful journey of the last 18 months that brought him there.
But it would not be a very kawhi thing, to forget the affronts and scars that opened the way for greatness. There was once a 16 year old boy whose father was murdered in the Compton car wash he owned. Then he was once the neglected rookie of Southern California who was not going to UCLA or USC, but to San Diego State. Then he was once the talented but still raw prospect that 14 NBA teams had missed out before being selected to the 2011 NBA draft.
And then, during the 2017-18 season, at a time when he had already established himself as one of the few people considered among the best basketball players in the world, he became quite another thing. It would be his last season with the only NBA team he ever played, the San Antonio Spurs, and it was a season of injury and drama, stabbing and disloyalty. The silent young man who just wanted to play basketball was suddenly considered a dissatisfaction, a guy who might be simulating an injury, and finally a selfish player who forced himself out of the most praised basketball culture. of the NBA over the last 25 years.
While sitting on the podium Thursday night at Oracle Arena, he was the third NBA player to win the final player of the final for two different teams – the others being Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and LeBron James – Kawhi took a deep breath and thought the roller coaster was the last 18 months. This was a man whose name had been dragged into the mud last season. Now he was a man who could be considered – should to be considered? – the best basketball player on earth.
He was not sitting here despite all these affronts. He was sitting here because of them.
"Last year, many people doubted me," replied Leonard, a thoughtful reflex, when I asked him how these past seasons had changed him as a man. "They thought that I was pretending to hurt myself or that I did not want to play for a team, it's disappointing for me to be published in the media, because I love basketball, as I always say, do not play this game, if we're hurt – I mean, you're shot, so I just got through that, and I just knew that I had to make myself happy, and no one else.
"And I have to trust myself," continued Leonard, a little loquacious. "No matter – no matter what someone has to say about me, I know who I am as a person, I know how I feel, and always trust you." And that was my And that's why one of the things I take on the table – I do not care what the media says about me or if they want me to score 30 points because I've already played I'm going out and I'm not trying to hit the headlines, it's just things I've learned quite well as a member of the NBA all along the way. continues to grow as a man and that's why I say Just think of my past life and try to learn from situations, be wise and learn from others. "
Phew. This is Kawhi Leonard, apparently silent, who is laying bare his soul.
It was unfair what he experienced last season. Did Kawhi handle this situation perfectly? Of course not. Something broke between Kawhi and the Spurs, and neither side would swallow their pride to fix things. Instead, Kawhi found himself in a place he never wanted to go to – "We all know where my destinations are," he repeated on this podium – and with a chance to do something as unlikely as possible. .
"I sent a text to Kyle [Lowry] Probably a day later, "Kawhi said of the Raptors trade during the off-season, which sent the cornerstone of the DeMar DeRozan franchise to San Antonio. I told him, I said to him: Let's go out and do something special. I know your best friend is gone, I know you're angry, but let's make things all right. And we are here today. "
The greatness of Kawhi Leonard is unique to him. He is not the most naturally gifted athlete on Earth, like LeBron. This is not a revolutionary unicorn like Kevin Durant. This is not the type of player who has changed our definition of basketball as Steph Curry. Kawhi is an old school, with a blunt style of strength from hard work, in the gym and in the games. His game is an effort on beauty. He is the type of player who needs the motivation of this type of affront, both real and imagined, that was slandered against him last season.
For the moment, Kawhi Leonard and the city of Toronto are at the top of the world of basketball. We do not know how long it will last. The marriage of Kawhi and Toronto could be long-term, or it could only be a few weeks. S & # 39; s learned one thing in the last 18 months is that size is not guaranteed. And if he had an idea in mind during the last two games of this NBA finals, during which Durant and Klay Thompson were seriously injured, it's the same lesson he learned last season: health is not guaranteed either.
For the moment, however, there are some guarantees: That all that Masai Ujiri put into play to bring Kawhi to Toronto was worth it. This Kawhi Leonard is not just a superstar, but an excellent player who plays among us. And maybe, maybe, as LeBron's career falters, the Warriors go through their struggles after the injury, while Giannis Antetokounmpo continues to find the best version of himself, it's Kawhi Leonard , the man we spent last season doubting and slandering, who is currently the best basketball player on earth.
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