In his lone season with the Toronto Raptors, NBA star Kawhi Leonard was able to accomplish something that hadn’t been done in history: bring the NBA championship north of the border. While Kawhi would go on to leave just a few months later, his title run with the Raptors put him on legendary status that Cam Johnson says is worthy of a statue.
“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…”
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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.
Kawhi’s 2019 Run Is Iconic
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. After that, they beat the Warriors Superteam 4-2 and surprisingly win the 2019 NBA Championship.
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.
The Last Dance For Kawhi And The Clippers
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.
Already, the Clippers are compromised and Leonard is averaging just 22.2 points per game, his lowest mark since the 2017-18 season, when he played just 9 games. With Russell Westbrook and James Harden on the roster now, star-power is not lacking for this Clippers team, but star power isn’t what got the Raptors their title. It was hard work, good luck, and a total buy-in from everyone on the team to a system that catered to their strengths. for the Clippers, they might want to look at the 2019 Raptors as inspiration for their own team, but it may be too late to change lanes now given what they’ve already invested into their top-heavy roster.
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