WITH its win over Milwaukee on Sunday, Toronto did not only clinch its first NBA Finals stint. It also ousted the season’s No. 1 team—a milestone mostly credited to Kawhi Leonard.
Leonard was unsure of playing for Toronto this season as he got embroiled in an ugly squabble with his former San Antonio coach Gregg “Pop” Popovich.
Their spat ended when Pop accused Leonard of faking an injury following Leonard’s prolonged recuperation. Leonard left without saying goodbye.
San Antonio’s loss was Toronto’s gain.
If Pop’s head is still buried in the sand, woe to him.
Rookie Toronto Coach Nick Nurse saw a fulcrum in Leonard to build a brand-new Raptor crew after successive disappointments with other certified stars, the last being Vince Carter.
Well, it also helped that LeBron James had left Cleveland, his departure auguring well for Toronto.
Recall that the Raptors would always get eliminated when they faced the James-powered Cavaliers in several previous playoffs of the Eastern Conference.
James moved this season to the West but his stint with the Los Angeles Lakers proved to be a dud, caused primarily by his having a slew of greenhorns as his teammates—not to mention he also got injured to miss many Laker games.
With James’s absence, it was but natural that new stars would emerge from the East, foremost of whom is Leonard.
OK, two others had proved their mettle: Joel Embiid of Philadelphia and, yes, Giannis Antetokounmpo of Milwaukee.
But with Toronto now in the NBA Finals against Golden State, who would indisputably reign as Eastern king if not Leonard?
Call it luck, whatever, but Leonard buried the marginal triple at the buzzer as Toronto nipped Philadelphia in a Game 7 semifinal thriller.
Then just last Sunday, the 6-foot-7 Leonard engineered a rally from 15 points down in powering Toronto past Milwaukee, 100-94, scoring a game-high 27 points and outrebounding the 7-footer and MVP contender Antetokounmpo, 17-11.
But you ain’t seen nuthin’ yet?
Watch out for Friday’s Finals blast-off.
Leonard is aching for a second NBA ring.