Kawhi Leonard performed for the Toronto Raptors for only one season, however he led the franchise to its first-ever NBA title.
Earlier than getting traded to the Toronto Raptors in 2018, Kawhi Leonard had a rotten relationship with the San Antonio Spurs.
Leonard initially needed to play for the Los Angeles Lakers, however Magic Johnson’s one mistake prevented that from turning into a actuality.
Taking part in in Toronto finally turned out to be the best-case situation for the Klaw. Talking of his 2019 NBA playoff run, it featured a plethora of iconic moments.
Kawhi Leonard was a notch above the remaining through the 2019 postseason run. He additionally pulled off a seemingly not possible shot throughout Sport 7 towards the Philadelphia 76ers within the second spherical.
Sure, the identical shot that bounced a number of occasions on the rim earlier than getting in. On the time, former NBA participant Serge Ibaka was a member of the Raptors and one of many closest folks to Leonard on the court docket.
“Truthfully, I didn’t imagine that shot was going to go in. I used to be like ‘No approach.’ I used to be able to go for an offensive rebound, so I used to be nearly near tipping the ball.
“I used to be like ‘Oh my god!” Ibaka on the Whats up and Welcome podcast.
Being an elite defender, Ibaka’s first intuition was to tip the ball in. Nonetheless, he pressured himself to keep away from the ball, and it paid off.
In actuality, Ibaka by no means touched the ball, and the Raptors superior to the following spherical. They then defeated the Milwaukee Bucks within the Japanese Convention Finals and outplayed the Golden State Warriors within the NBA Finals.
However what if Ibaka had certainly ruined that iconic shot? Nicely, Ibaka says he would have retired after that sequence.
“If I had touched that ball, I’d need to retire as a result of there’s no approach you come again from that. When the ball was bouncing, I used to be able to go, able to tip off. Thank god I didn’t contact that ball,” Ibaka acknowledged.
Not solely did Ibaka not retire, however he performed for 4 extra years within the NBA. The previous 2x NBA blocks champion is but to formally retire, however he has been out of the league for the reason that 2022-23 NBA season.
