Kawhi Leonard was named NBA Finals MVP, and joined an elite group in the process.
The Toronto Raptors superstar won the award for the second time after his team beat the Warriors 114-110 in Game 6 of The Finals on Thursday night, five years after winning it with the San Antonio Spurs. Thus, Leonard joined Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (Milwaukee Bucks, Los Angeles Lakers) and LeBron James (Miami Heat, Cleveland Cavaliers) to win the award with two different teams.
#NBAFinals MVPs with multiple franchises:
Kareem
LeBron
Kawhi— Basketball Reference (@bball_ref) June 14, 2019
Leonard, like James, won his second on the floor of Oracle Arena. Unlike James, Leonard was not a unanimous MVP.
NBA Finals MVP voting results. Kawhi was a Hubie Brown vote away from being unanimous. pic.twitter.com/A0sGNchSBg— Sam Amick (@sam_amick) June 14, 2019
Sports
[RELATED: Dubs' wild last possession at Oracle comes up just short]
Leonard averaged 28.5 points, 9.8 rebounds and 4.2 assists in six Finals games. He scored 22 points in the decisive Game 6, which might be the last game he plays in a Raptors uniform. The 27-year-old is set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer, and has been heavily linked to joining the Los Angeles Clippers.
If he lives Toronto for LA, Warriors fans will get a regular reminder of Leonard's two trophies (at least) four times a year.
