It has been six years since Kawhi Leonard shook the NBA world by leading the Raptors to their first-ever NBA championship with a stacked roster including Serge Ibaka, OG Anunoby, Pascal Siakam, Marc Gasol, Kyle Lowry, and Fred VanVleet.
Yet, to this day, his former teammate, Ibaka, remains in mystery over why Kawhi Leonard chose to leave the Raptors right after winning the championship.
In a recent interview for the ‘Hello and Welcome’ podcast, Serge Ibaka was shocked to hear the interviewer ask him about Kawhi Leonard.
“I didn’t believe it, I thought he was going to stay. I didn’t think he was going to leave.”
Ibaka took a few seconds to ponder the ‘what if’ with Leonard and instantly grabbed his forehead in distress over the situation.
“Kawhi, why? Why Kawhi? Why did he leave?” said Ibaka multiple times in disbelief as he grabbed his forehead.
When the interviewer asked him about how many championships he could’ve won if Leonard had never left and Ibaka was still in shock to respond.
“Bro, why are you asking me this question?” he said. He proceeds to smack his forehead multiple times when the interviewer predicts that they would have at least two more championships if Leonard stayed.
“Come on! It’s my guy, though. Bro, I still love you, bro. It’s all good, it’s all love,” said Ibaka in a message for Leonard to the camera.
After the interviewer proceeded to double down on Ibaka’s misery, Ibaka requested that he cut the recording, as he couldn’t believe his iconic picture with the NBA ring could have been more elite with two more rings on his hand.
Fun pod with @hellowelcomepod @steven_lebron @william_lou pic.twitter.com/HOF579OsKt
— Serge Ibaka (@sergeibaka) August 20, 2025
Ibaka followed Leonard one year after he left, as they teamed up again on the Clippers. But they did not have the same core as they did with the Raptors to pull off another championship run.
The real reason why Kawhi Leonard left remains a bit of a mystery. While sources claim he just wanted to go back to his hometown in Los Angeles, in an interview with GQ, Leonard had a slightly different response.
“I just wanted to go to a franchise where I could try to help build a legacy.”
Paul George has also claimed that they were looking for a possible way to team up in Toronto itself for the Raptors, but the Clippers pushed for his trade last minute with the Thunder that changed their eventual destination.
During his time with the Raptors, Kawhi Leonard averaged 26.6 points, 7.3 rebounds, and 3.3 assists in the regular season. He won his second Finals MVP award as he averaged 28.5 points, 9.8 rebounds, and 4.2 assists in the NBA Finals to beat the injured Warriors, who were looking for a three-peat.
