Tomorrow, the Clippers (18-7) visit the Raptors (16-7).
And it isn’t just a visit to say hello. They’ll play a basketball game. Against each other. And it’ll be televised nationally on ESPN. You should watch.
Here’s the OC Register on Clippers star Kawhi Leonard, who tomorrow will be playing his first game in Toronto since leaving the team in free agency this past summer after helping the Raptors win the 2019 NBA championship, their first-ever league title in franchise history:
In recent years, the 6-foot-7 forward has been hampered by lingering effects of a quadriceps injury that limited him to only nine games in his final season with the San Antonio Spurs in 2016-17. After being traded to Toronto, he was put on a “load management” schedule last season and played only 60 regular-season games before suiting up for all 24 games in the postseason, when he averaged 30.5 points, 9.1 rebounds and 3.9 assists, and claimed his second NBA title and second NBA Finals MVP.
Now, he’s averaging 25.1 points, 7.9 rebounds, 5.2 assists and 1.9 steals in 18 games for the 18-7 Clippers (who are 14-4 with Leonard in the lineup). In the first meeting with Toronto on Nov. 11, Leonard had 12 points, 11 rebounds, nine assists and three steals in a 98-88 victory.
And here’s the Toronto Star:
It’ll be surprising if the vast majority folks who make it to their seats by the appointed time don’t shower Leonard with an unequivocally raucous welcome back. He’s the reigning NBA Finals MVP, after all — Toronto’s first and only. He’s the bringer of rings, the elite addition to Masai Ujiri’s carefully curated collection of talent that transformed a perennial playoff pretender into a title defender.
Even though his time in Toronto was brief, he’ll probably be showered with cheers. At least, as he receives his championship ring. He arrived in Toronto, was easily the team’s best player as they won the championship, then packed his things and kept it moving. Fans wish he had stayed. But he made history, and for that reason, for Raptors fans he’s a hero.
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