Kawhi Leonard was named Finals MVP after leading the Toronto Raptors to the franchise’s first-ever championship Thursday night.
Leonard’s 22 points Thursday helped propel the Raptors to a 114-110 win over Golden State, closing out the series in six games and ending the Warriors’ championship run.
Leonard has been dominant all post-season, averaging just shy of 31 points per game heading into Thursday’s matchup and approaching some pretty remarkable history with his post-season point totals. He finishes the playoffs with a total of 732 points, which ranks him third on the all-time list for most points in a single post-season behind just LeBron James (748 in 2018) and Michael Jordan (759 in 1992).
In addition to being the best player on the floor on a near-nightly basis throughout these playoffs, Leonard has been a force in the Finals, registering at least 30 points in Games 2, 3, and 4.
The 27-year-old now has two Finals MVP nods to go with his pair of NBA Championship titles — he took down LeBron James and the dynastic Miami Heat as a member of the San Antonio Spurs in 2014, squashing Miami’s hopes of a third consecutive title, and has now halted Golden State’s quest to do the same.
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