Toronto Raptors’ run to the 2019 Championship came down to a Kawhi Leonard shot against the Sixers. Every Raptor gets some question about that famous shot since then, Pascal Siakam answers it this time.
Advertisement
Very few basketball players can be on the same level with Kawhi Leonard on his day. It was one such day, or we should say one such season.
Nothing was stopping the 2018-19 Toronto Raptors from winning the Championship. At least according to the players in the squad, they all knew that they were contenders from day one even if nobody else saw it coming.
Many things played a part in them lifting the Larry O’Brien though. From, Kawhi’s load management throughout the season to the injuries to Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson in the Finals, everything transpired in Toronto’s first-ever championship.
But the biggest highlight throughout their campaign would be none other than the Kawhi Leonard 3-point shot against the Sixers.
Pascal Siakam recalls the circumstances in which Kawhi Leonard hit that crazy buzzer-beater
Recently one of the best players of that 2019 championship team, Pascal Siakam joined former Philadelphia 76ers sharpshooter JJ Redick on his podcast “The Old Man and The Three”. Both of them were facing each other in the Eastern Conference semi-finals in what turned out to be one of the most breath-taking matches ever.
JJ who was on the Sixers bench at the moment asked Pascal about the shot that sealed the victory for the Raptors in Game 7.
Siakam remembered the moment, “Okay I don’t know what’s going on, I know Kawhi’s gonna shoot it, but it’s looking like they both got him. It’s Ben and it’s Joe and obviously, they have high hands and everything.”
In what could have been a bad shot if it doesn’t go in, Kawhi shot over a stretched Joel Embiid. He produced one of the most clutch shot in NBA history maybe just behind the Ray Allen shot, as the game was tied at that point. Sure, it won them a game but it could have gone on to overtime if Kwahi didn’t hit.
Siakam continued, “I don’t know what to do like I was just literally watching, I felt like I was a supporter too, I was on the side and just watching because I’m just there and waiting, I’m like, ‘Okay what he’s gonna do, is he gonna shoot it, is he gonna pass it’ what going on!! It was crazy, I just wanted him to get it off that’s my only thing, how is he going to get it off? It looked impossible, to be honest, but he got it off.”
Pascal might have been nervous at the moment and wanted the team’s star to take the last shot but he himself was no less contributor in the playoffs. The Most Improved Player of 2019 averaged over 19 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists, and a steal per game.
The Raptors haven’t had that kind of success in the last two years since Kawhi’s departure, but they have shown that they will fight for the Playoffs every season. Even after they lost their long-time leader and point guard Kyle Lowry this offseason to Miami Heat, they are faring pretty decent now at 10-13.
Yesterday they defeated last season’s champions Milwaukee Bucks 97-93 and currently sit at 12th in a tight Eastern Conference race to Playoffs.
