Toronto Raptors: 3 takeaways from Game 6 win in 2019 NBA Finals

3. Kawhi Leonard deserving of Finals MVP

The Toronto Raptors’ superstar was named Finals MVP for the second time in his career. President of basketball operations Masai Ujiri made a decision last July to trade their then franchise player, DeMar DeRozan, and Jakob Poeltl for Leonard, who was coming off a gruesome leg injury that limited him to only nine games the prior season, and Danny Green.

After winning the championship and Leonard winning Finals MVP, for all the negative publicity Ujiri got for the trade, it is more than fair to say it was all worth it. Even if Leonard opts out of his player option for next year and decides to join another team, the deal was still worth it. For most of the franchise’s 24 years of existence, there has never been an elite talent such as Leonard.

Vince Carter was the closest in regards to superstardom, but still not quite the same two-way, elite talent of Leonard’s caliber. In winning Finals MVP, Kawhi joined Kevin Durant, LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Shaquille O’Neal, Tim Duncan, Hakeem Olajuwon, Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Willis Reed as the only players in NBA history to win it multiple times.

Furthermore, he is the third player to be named Finals MVP on two different teams, with LeBron and Kareem being the other two.

In just under 40 minutes per game, Leonard averaged 30.5 points, 9.1 rebounds, 3.9 assists, 1.7 steals and 0.7 blocks on 49.0 percent shooting from the field, including 37.9 percent from deep throughout this postseason. In just one season, he has cemented his place as one of the best Toronto Raptors players of all-time.