NBA player Kawhi Leonard did something historic in his one and only season with the Toronto Raptors: he brought the NBA title north of the border. Even though Kawhi would depart a few months later, Cam Johnson believes that his championship run with the Raptors elevated him to a legendary stature deserving of a monument.
“He really pulled up to Toronto. Didn’t speak, won a chip and dipped…That’s legendary. Legends get statues. To bring a championship to that city in the manner that he did against the powerhouse of the Warriors…”
The 2018-19 season didn’t go the way most people expected. The Warriors, who still had Kevin Durant at the time, were in the last year of their run and everyone was confident that they’d beat whichever team was in their way. Of course, the Warriors lost the title that year and it started a chain reaction that altered the course of history forever. Among other factors, Kawhi played a huge role in how it all played out and nobody should lose sight of how impressive it was.
The Raptors finished second in the east that year, behind the Bucks with a record of 58-24. And while questions loomed about Kawhi’s future all season long, he never let it affect his performance and finished the season averaging 26.6 points, 7.3 rebounds, and 3.3 assists per game. That year, everything came together for the Raptors and by the time the playoffs began in April, they were considered a top-tier title contender with Kawhi, Kyle Lowry, Pascal Siakam, and Serge Ibaka among others.
On the path to the Larry O’Brien, the Raptors had to fight through some steep competition that started in round two against the Philadelphia 76ers. Thanks to an amazing buzzer beater in Game 7, that is still celebrated today, Leonard was able to get his team to the Conference Finals, where they beat the Bucks in 6 games after going down 0-2 in the series. Looking back, the Raptors definitely got some breaks in the postseason that year but you can’t blame them for taking care of business and getting the job done while their title window was still open.
Since leaving the Raptors in 2019, Kawhi hasn’t has nearly as much success in the postseason. Thanks to injuries, team chemistry issues, and outright playoff collapses, the Clippers haven’t got much to show for the Kawhi Leonard/Paul George era and it remains to be seen when the cycle will break.
Leonard is scoring just 22.2 points per game, which is his lowest total since the 2017–18 season, when he participated in just 9 games, and the Clippers are already in serious trouble. The Clippers have plenty of star power now that James Harden and Russell Westbrook are in the lineup, but the Raptors’ championship wasn’t won by them. It took a lot of effort, good fortune, and complete team buy-in to create a structure that played to each member’s abilities. The Clippers could find inspiration in the 2019 Raptors, but considering what they’ve already spent on their roster that has a lot of players, it might be too late to shift course at this point.
