With the Raptors up 3-2 in the Finals (as of the morning of June 11th), we as basketball are witnessing a basketball star shine on the brightest stage. I'm not talking about Stephen Curry, who despite his 47 points in Game 3, is being average for what we expect from a now veteran in the Finals. Who I'm talking about here is the ever-so interesting character of Kawhi Leonard. Coming from San Antonio in a trade this past summer, Kawhi is been apart of this turn around in the Raptors culture. With the firing of NBA Coach of the Year Dwayne Casey, basketball fans were puzzled as to Masai Ujiri and the Raptors front office made this action. With Nick Nurse coming into coach, he was able to tap into the existing and new players on the team. Pascal Siakam definitely benefited from this change, as he went from a solid bench player to a trustworthy second option on the team. But Siakam's impact is nothing like the impact of the San Diego State product's. Kawhi came into the season knowing he had a lot to prove to the basketball world. After missing significant time with an "injury", Kawhi's drive to play basketball came into question. During the regular season, Kawhi in the Raptors were not the talk of the Eastern Conference though. That went to the Milwaukee Bucks, who with a new coach and a strong core, stormed to the top of the conference standings. In the playoffs though, is when we saw that Kawhi we as fan had been waiting for. Kawhi got the label as being a basketball robot, for his ability to score the ability like a machine as well as his LAID BACK personality. Kawhi has been a guaranteed 20+ points every game this playoffs. He was able to brush off the Orlando Magic, despite a Game 1 miracle by D.J. Augustin. The next round Kawhi Leonard faced the Philadelphia 76ers, a team that posed a real threat of eliminating Kawhi and his Raptors. Being lead by star guard/forward Jimmy Butler, the 76ers were able to take a 2-1 lead over the Raptors. With his team on the ropes of being down 3-1 in the series, The Claw exploded for 39 points and 14 rebounds and tied the series heading back to the Six. The most notable moment of this playoff series came from Game 7. Tied 90-90 with seconds left on the game clock, the Raptors passed the ball to Kawhi, with hopes he could sink a shot to send the Sixers home. And so he did, as he dribbled to the corner and was able to hit a fade away jumper in the face of Ben Simmons AND Joel Embiid. The ball bounced around the rim, leaving us in fans in question as to whether this game was going into OT or did Kawhi hit arguably the greatest shot in Raptors history. The answer: Kawhi hit the greatest shot in his franchise's history. Kawhi would send his team to the Conference Finals, and now everyone in the basketball community had their eye on him. Kawhi and the Raptors would go into the Conference Finals and face the Milwaukee Bucks, the team that had stole the spotlight of the Eastern Conference with an NBA-leading 60 wins. The Milwaukee Bucks showed the Toronto Raptors why they were the best team in the East, taking a commanding 2-0 lead heading to Toronto. Now whether it was the curse of Paul Pierce saying the Bucks were going to win the series or Kawhi Leonard turning into a two-way basketball god, the Raptors were able to win the next four games and advance to the NBA Finals for the franchise's first berth. Even though
Giannis Antetokounmpo is seen as the most unstopable force in the NBA, Kawhi's defense made that not so true. Looking at the stats when Giannis was guarded by Kawhi shows us basketball fans just how dominate he is on that end. While still being a walking bucket in the playoffs, Kawhi has shown he is able to guard to most elite players in the league and make them not so special. In the finals, Kawhi has the entire nation of Canada cheering for him. With a 3-2 lead heading back to Oracle Arena, Kawhi can look to end Golden State's season on their home floor. Even though the Warriors have been banged up these playoffs, many analysts predicted the Warriors to come away with this series. Kawhi is continuing to show us his two-way abilities, and as well as his ability to step up late in games. If Kawhi is able to win one of the next two games, Kawhi has my vote for being one of the top TWO players in basketball. Now it all rests in Kawhi's freakishly large hands to deliver a championship not only to Toronto, but to the nation of Canada.