The 2019 NBA playoffs were one of the most exciting in recent years. Many teams had serious championship aspirations going into the postseason, but it was the Toronto Raptors who prevailed above everybody, beating the Golden State Warriors in the Finals to win the first championship in Raptors history.
It wasn’t an easy journey for the Canadian team, but they had Kawhi Leonard on the court, and the Klaw was on a mission during that run. They didn’t have the easiest journey of all, but Leonard showed up whenever they needed him.
Arguably the most memorable series for the Raptors and the rest of the NBA happened in the second round of the playoffs, where they clashed against the Philadelphia 76ers, who were ready to ruin Leonard’s plans of becoming a 2-time NBA champion.
JJ Redick Talks Kawhi Leonard’s Incredible Game-Winning Shot In 2019 Playoffs
During a recent episode of his ‘The Old Man and the Three’, JJ Redick talked with former teammate Ben Simmons and co-host Tommy Alter about what a team needs to become champions in a league like the NBA. The retired sharpshooter found the best example in the 2019 Philadelphia 76ers who lost their second-round series against Kawhi Leonard in a dramatic fashion (29:55).
“I think some of it was, we were good enough, but when our best players needed to be at their best, we weren’t good enough. Whereas Kawhi, that series, was f**king good enough. I always go back to Game 4, we’re up 2-1, we get a double-digit lead in the 4th and Kyle Lowry has said this to me multiple times, ‘I thought the series was over, you guys are going up 3-1’, and then Kawhi just goes full-on Michael Jordan mode. So, this is why it’s so hard to win a championship because it’s so much timing–and it’s not always luck, you can say Kawhi’s shot was luck or them not calling a travel was luck for them. You need a bunch of stuff to happen to win a championship and something’s gotta get right for you, and potentially, something’s gotta go right or wrong for another team that you’re facing. So, that team to me was as good of a team as I’ve played on in the NBA.”
It’s clear that Redick has some complaints about that infamous Game 7 and the play where Kawhi called game and series with a big shot over Joel Embiid. That 76ers team had something great going, with Joel Embiid, Jimmy Butler, and Ben Simmons leading the charge, they looked poised to make it to the NBA Finals, but that shot ruined all of their plans.
After that season, nothing has been the same for the Sixers, who lost Butler that summer. Redick also left the team, and Simmons followed through earlier this year in a blockbuster deal for James Harden. They could have been something special, but that incredible shot changed everything for them.
