30 Killer Facts About “Klaw” – Kawhi Leonard That Fans Must Know

Kawhi Leonard, nicknamed the “Claw” or “Klaw” for his ball-hawking skills, is a five-time All-Star with two All-NBA First Team selections, currently playing for the Los Angeles Clippers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He is known for leading his previous team Toronto Raptors to their first ever NBA Championship in history in the 2019 Finals. Here are some interesting facts about the basketball player that will make the fans love him more:

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1.  San Diego State University retired Leonard’s number 15 on February 1, 2020, making Kawhi Leonard, the first player in the history to have received this honor.
2.  During the December 25, 2020 game against the Denver Nuggets, he suffered a facial injury, after being hit in the face by teammate Serge Ibaka’s elbow, which required him getting eight stitches.
3.  After missing two games, he returned to the season with the 128–105 win over the Portland Trail Blazers, in which he recorded the game-high 28 points and seven assists on December 30, 2020.
4.  In the year 2018, he signed a multi-year endorsement deal with New Balance, before which he had signed with Air Jordan brand, a subsidiary of Nike.
5.  The following year, Leonard filed a federal lawsuit against Nike, stating that the company had copyrighted Leonard’s “Klaw” logo, without his consent.
6.  Kawhi Anthony Leonard was born on June 29, 1991, to Mark Leonard and Kim Robertson in Los Angeles, California. He has four sisters and is the youngest child of the family.
7.  He was very close with his father Mark, who was shot and killed on January 18, 2008 at their family’s Compton car wash.
8.  Kawhi was only 16 years old at that time, and was playing a game that night. His father was planning to leave work early in order to watch Kawhi play. However, he was found shot dead.
9.  He insisted on playing the next evening, and scored 17 points for Riverside King in a loss to Compton Dominguez. Right after the game, he broke down emotionally as his father was supposed to be watching the game.
10.  His father’s murder case has till date not been solved, and his stepmother Jacquelyne Leonard recently broke down and shared details about it, as it had been more than 13 years.

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11.  She just found out that she was pregnant at that time of the murder. Three months later, she was also shot in the legs, while a vehicle drove into the car wash. Police believe both the shootings to be related.
12.  Leonard is the cousin of Steven John Johnson Jr., a former football wide receiver, who played for the San Francisco 49ers and San Diego Chargers.
13.  He went to Canyon Springs High School, before he transferred to Martin Luther King High School for his junior year. He played in the school’s team King High Wolves.
14.  Along with fellow NBA player, Tony Snell, who was also a member of the King High Wolves, Leonard led the team to a 30-3 record.
15.  During his time with the Martin Luther King High School, he averaged 22.6 points, 13.1 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 3 blocks per game, and was named California Mr. Basketball.
16.  As a freshman at San Diego State University, he averaged 12.7 points and 9.9 rebounds per game for the San Diego State Aztecs men’s basketball team.
17.  He led the team to win the Mountain West Conference (MWC) tournament title, while being the lead in rebounding with 10 rebounds. Leonard was named MWC Freshman of the Year, First Team All-MWC, and the 2010 MWC Tournament MVP.
18.  He was selected with the 15th overall pick in the 2011 NBA draft by the Indiana Pacers, but was later traded that night to San Antonio Spurs. Following this, he signed a multi-year deal with the Spurs on December 10, 2011.
19.  In the 2013 – 2014 season, Leonard helped the Spurs to a 62 – 20 record – the number one seed in the NBA, and was named to the NBA All-Defensive Second Team for the first time.
20.  He averaged 17.8 points on 61% shooting and was named NBA Finals MVP in the season, making him the third-youngest winner of the award.

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21.  With this, he also became the sixth player and the first since Chauncey Billups in 2004, to win Finals MVP in a season, in which they were not an All-Star.
22.  In the year 2021, he starred in a new commercial advertisement for the Hyundai Motor Company, promoting their new Hyundai Tucson.
23.  Leonard is always known for his quiet and private demeanor, who avoids any kind of questions related to his personal life. He rarely gives any interviews and is even nicknamed as robotic by his fellow basketball players.
24.  He has been dating his Kishele Shipley who he met during his time at the San Diego State University. The couple has been rumored to have had a secret wedding ceremony, although there has never been any verified news.
25.  The couple have two children together – a daughter – Kaliyah Leonard born in the year 2016, and a son born in the year 2019. While his son’s name has not been revealed, Kawhi revealed that his son was born in Canada, getting him a Canadian citizenship.
26.  In the January 21, 2017 game – 118-115 overtime victory against the Cleveland Cavaliers, with his 41 points, he became the first San Antonio Spurs player to score at least 30 in six straight games since Mike Mitchell in the year 1986.
27.  Following the death of Kobe Bryant in a January 2020 helicopter crash, he revealed that they had shared the same pilot Ara Zobayan, who was also one of the victims.
28.  With his play-off career-high 45 points which led Toronto Raptors to a 108-95 victory against the Philadelphia 76ers, he became the second player in Raptors history to eclipse 40 points in a playoff game.
29.  In the 2019 Finals, he was named the NBA Finals MVP for the second time, making him the third Finals MVP to have won the award with two teams. He is also the first person to win Finals MVP with a team from each conference.
30.  Leonard recorded his first career triple-double with 33 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists in the Los Angeles Clippers’ 122–117 win over the Miami Heat on January 24, 2020.
31.  Kawhi Leonard Net Worth: $50 Million