Kawhi Leonard: the man standing between the Warriors and yet another NBA title

Golden State are predicted to win a fourth NBA title in five seasons. But the Toronto Raptors have a player capable of making a difference everywhere on court

The Toronto Raptors didn’t quite come from nowhere to make the NBA finals but they hardly entered the playoffs as the favorites to come out of the East. Past demons loomed largely. So did the Sixers, Celtics and Bucks. But this Toronto team, built differently to their disappointing predecessors of the last half-decade, advanced to the franchise’s first NBA finals, thanks to the acquisition of a true paradigm-shifter: Kawhi Leonard. He’s also perhaps the only player on earth with a realistic chance of stopping the Golden State Warriors juggernaut from winning a fourth NBA title in five seasons.

Leonard is the definition of a franchise player. He elevates a good team into a championship contender. Along with veteran addition Marc Gasol and youngster Pascal Siakam, Leonard helped shatter the mental block of previous Raptors teams in the postseason, as Toronto came back from 0-2 down to win four straight games against Milwaukee and the likely league MVP, Giannis Antetokounmpo.

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from US news | The Guardian http://bit.ly/2QxObAR