TINANGGAP ni Kawhi Leonard ang kauna-unahang Kobe Bryant MVP award matapos pangunahan ang Team LeBron kontra Team Giannis, 157-155, sa NBA All-Star Games Linggo ng gabi (Lunes, Manila time).
Umiskor si Leonard ng 30 points, kabilang ang walong 3-pointers, upang maging runaway winner sa naturang parangal kung saan nakakuha siya ng pitong boto. Ang pumangalawa sa kanyang si Lebron James ay mayroon lamang tatlong boto habang tig-isa sina Anthony Davis at Chris Paul.
Naging emosyunal naman ang Los Angeles Clippers star nang iabot sa kanya ang MVP trophy na ipinangalan sa yumaong si Kobe Bryant, na namatay sa helicopter crash kasama ang 13-anyos na anak na si Gianna at pitong iba pa tatlong linggo na ang nakararaan.
“It’s very special,” wika ni Leonard. “Like I said, I had a relationship with him. Words can’t explain how happy I am for it. Able to put that trophy in my room, in my trophy room, and just be able to see Kobe’s name on there, it just means a lot to me. He’s a big inspiration in my life. He did a lot for me.”
Naging tribute kay Bryant ang tatlong araw na All-Star festivities sa Chicago, kung saan ay inalala rin ang pumanaw na dating NBA Commissioner Emeritus na si David Stern.
Samantala, dahil sa All-Star MVP award ng Los Angeles Clippers star, isama pa ang dalawang NBA Finals MVP trophies noong naglaro siya para sa San Antonio at Toronto Raptors, tanging regular season MVP award na lang ang kulang kay Leonard.
Ngunit para sa kanya, secondary lang ang individual recognition at mas importante pa rin ang championship.
“My mindset is always just to try to make my team the best team at the end of the regular season. And if I’m fortunate enough to win a regular season MVP, then I’ll be happy with it,” giit ni Leonard.
“I always just want to win championships. I’m not really concerned with the personal goal. So I always want to play to win championships,” dagdag pa niya.
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