Kawhi Leonard has a deeper connection to Michael Jordan other than the fact that the former was once a Jordan Brand athlete and their mastery over the mid-range. Both Hall-of-Famers lost their fathers to gun violence and never truly were the same following these events having taken place in their lives.
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Jordan, after having lost his father in the summer of 1993, would immediately announce his retirement from basketball and pursue a career in Minor League Baseball. This was due to both his depleting interest in the NBA as he’d accomplished everything he sought to accomplish and because his father always wanted him to give baseball a shot.
For Kawhi Leonard, it was a bit different. While his father was also an unfortunate victim of gun violence, Kawhi would experience this while he was still in high school attending Martin Luther King High School in Riverside, California.
How did Kawhi’s dad pass away?
Kawhi father, Mark Leonard, always pushed him to participate in sports. He wanted his son to pursue a career in football, which was actually his main sport while in high school. However, being the athletic man that he was, Kawhi Leonard started to excel at basketball as well.
Mark was nonetheless proud of his son and made it his mission to try to attend as many games as he could to watch his son play. In his junior year, Kawhi transferred to Martin Luther King High School in Riverside.
Mark owned and managed a car wash that his son, Kawhi, would also help out at. On January 18th, 2008, the Leonard family would get the most harrowing phone call of their lives when they were called to be told that Mark was gunned down in front of their family business as he was closing up shop.
According to reports, as Mark was closing down the car wash in Compton, a final car pulled through for its services. Out of generosity, Mark agreed but would get gunned down by the man as the assailant fled in his car. To this day, it is unclear who the murderer was.
Also read: Why Did Kawhi Leonard’s Laugh Go Viral?
Did Kawhi Leonard play after hearing this news?
Somehow, Kawhi Leonard mustered up enough energy to not only attend his high school basketball game the very next day, but also play in it. The game was between King High and Compton Dominguez. Leonard dropped 17 points in a 68-60 loss and following the game, would start bawling his eyes out in his mother’s arms.
Emotions ran high for Kawhi that year as he couldn’t shake what had transpired. His high school basketball coach even said that ever since that night, his shooting from beyond the arc had faltered, going down several notches from his usual 45%.
While his play did suffer from the tragic loss of his father, he didn’t really express himself emotionally all too much following the incident. Kim Robertson, Kawhi’s mother, once said:
“I was kind of scared. You know how young men, they lose their father, who is a big figure in their life. It might turn them to do things bad. But Kawhi’s always been strong. He’s a good kid. He wants to get better and better.”
Kawhi winning his first ever championship with the San Antonio Spurs and his first Finals MVP on Father’s Day in 2014 was just the cherry on top of his ascent from something harrowing that had happened to him into superstardom in the NBA.
Kawhi’s stoic behavior
A lot has been said about Kawhi Leonard and his stoic demeanor. Whether it’s his robotic laugh or his unwillingness to smile on most occasions, the New Balance athlete keeps his emotions close to his chest and rightfully so.
Leonard however, has been credited with actually being one of the funniest guys in any locker room he’s entered, whether it be the Raptors or now, the Clippers. NB even marketed the 2x Finals MVP as a ‘Fun Guy’ by making merch out of his iconic Raptors press conference on-liner.
So, while KL might not show his fun side to the public, it’s very apparent by several people in his life that he is one of the happier men they have encountered.
