Toronto Raptors: The 2019 NBA Finals is Kawhi Leonard’s moment
By Jacob Gries
After an impressive run through the 2019 NBA Playoffs, the Finals is now the time for Kawhi Leonard to fortify his legacy
How exactly did Kawhi Leonard get here?
In the lead-up to the 2011 NBA Draft, there was a consensus at the top: Kyrie Irving and Derrick Williams were going to be the top two selections, with the debate raging over who would be spending winters in Cleveland and who would be relegated to Minnesota, perhaps the only colder option.
There was never any mention of Leonard. Not in the top five, among that draft’s supposed “elite.” And, at the time, there wasn’t really any logical reason for his inclusion among that group. He flashed moments of brilliance in his two years at San Diego State, the second of which was spent as the primary offensive option for a team that was borderline unwatchable on that end of the floor.
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In shooting 29 percent from beyond the arc that season, he gave draft experts, analysts and executives around the league no reason to believe he would ever become a plus-shooter, or scorer, at the next level.
Leonard, shockingly, shot 37 percent his rookie year while serving as Kevin Durant‘s main foil in the Western Conference Finals, a series his Spurs would lose after appearing invincible throughout the playoffs up to that point. The next two years, he maintained those shooting gains while doubling his attempts. Maintaining efficiency while increasing volume is no easy task, especially for a player who had never even sniffed 35 percent from deep in college.
This seemed to signal his transformation into the coveted “3-and-D” player, a restrictive label but, ultimately, a very useful, and necessary, piece to any championship puzzle. However, Leonard had other ideas. In the 2014 NBA Finals, as a soft-spoken 22-year-old, he emerged as something more.
He, of course, took on the opposition’s most challenging offensive force who, in this series just happened to be LeBron James at the absolute peak of his powers, and gave him fits. After LeBron knotted the series at 1-1, Leonard put up 29, 20 and 22 in the successive three games to close out one of the most dominant displays of basketball we’ve ever seen on that grand of a stage, taking home Finals MVP in the process.
It’s only fitting, then, that Leonard’s next Finals appearance has come as a member of the Toronto Raptors, who reside in the East which, for the last eight years, has been owned, governed and operated by LeBron. The power vacuum at the top that was created by his departure to the Los Angeles Lakers was bandied about all season, with many wondering who would seize the mantle.
At different points in the playoffs, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Joel Embiid appeared ready to take on the responsibility of representing the East against the mighty, dynastic Golden State Warriors. But at every turn, Leonard was there to thwart them, and foil their best-laid plans, as he romped through the East with a level of dominance that led some to mention this run in the same breath as many of LeBron’s throughout his second tenure with the Cavs.
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Now Kawhi Leonard will be asked to do what LeBron once did: take down the Warriors juggernaut in the Finals. Unlike LeBron, he will have the benefit of homecourt advantage, a wrinkle that could tilt the series in their favor. Leonard has already taken down the best player of his generation on this stage; now he’ll attempt to take down the best team. If we know one thing from his past, he’ll be ready for the challenge.