Nick Nurse Tells Hilarious Kawhi Leonard Locker Room Story
TORONTO, ONTARIO - JUNE 10: Head coach Nick Nurse of the Toronto Raptors reacts in the fourth quarter against the Golden State Warriors during Game Five of the 2019 NBA Finals at Scotiabank Arena on June 10, 2019 in Toronto, Canada. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
Kawhi Leonard may not be a member of the Raptors for much longer, but he'll be leaving some incredible memories behind in Toronto regardless of what happens. Raptors head coach Nick Nurse has some especially fond recollections of their time together, including a pretty funny story.
In an interview on The Lowe Podcast, Nurse recounted a story of how he tried to get the team to stay level-headed after their Game 5 win over the Milwaukee Bucks in the Eastern Conference Finals. He began to explain that he had been in a similar situation in the 2011 D-League Finals with the Iowa Energy when Kawhi Leonard interrupted.
Halfway through that story, Leonard interjected with, “In the D-League? I’m done listening to this story.”
The moral of the story was that the Energy would lose their next game by 25 points, but win the following game to clinch the title.
Nurse's message, at least to the other players, must have resonated, as they would win Game 6 to clinch their first-ever spot in the NBA finals.
In the finals, the Raptors never fell behind the two-time defending NBA champions, racing out to a 3-1 start and winning the series in Game 6.
Leonard was named NBA Finals MVP after averaging 28.5 points per game, 9.8 rebounds per game, and 4.2 assists per game.
If his time in Toronto is truly done, Nick Nurse will certainly miss him.
