The Miami Heat got bucked off the back of history on Sunday night and it was all thanks to the San Antonio Spurs and their impressive effort all series long to stop whatever Miami threw at them. But one player in particular was honored after the Spurs wont their fifth NBA title in the Tim Duncan era and he was more than deserving of the prize.
Kawhi Leonard was named the NBA Finals MVP and it’s a reward that was well deserved given everything he put into the series and all the ways he grew into a superstar in the process.
Interestingly enough, Leonard becomes the youngest NBA Finals MVP since Tim Duncan earned the honor back in 1999 when he won the first of what has now become five NBA titles in his career. But the real thing to take away from this is we just witnessed the next big star in the NBA being born before our eyes and the next true leader of this Spurs team took his place in the franchise’s lore.
Leonard may not be on the same level as Duncan, Ginobili or Parker but we saw what we saw back in 1999 when Duncan stood tall next to David Robinson and assumed the crown of successor of the Spurs leadership. We will likely get a few more good years of the this Spurs trio, but Leonard arrived as a star in this series and his NBA Finals MVP honor shows that he’s ready to be the guy who is the cornerstone of the Spurs future and it’s up the front office to now start building around him while the old guard rides off into the sunset.