What we can learn from Kawhi Leonard
Hollywood has a new star that we in Toronto all know quite well. Kawhi Leonard is going back home to Los Angeles and as much as the city of Toronto will miss him, Kawhi has made a lasting impression both on and off the court. Ever since the news broke late Friday night, I’ve been reading comments and was happy to read that almost everyone is grateful for what Kawhi did for not only the city of Toronto but the country of Canada.
It’s completely natural to be sad and disappointed. Anytime a team loses their best player and arguably one of the top three best players in the world, you should be disappointed. We would have had a great opportunity to repeat had Kawhi and Danny Green resigned but it is the reality we knew could happen from the beginning. His heart always longed for Los Angeles and you can’t fault someone for wanting to go back home to a place where they grew up. When John Tavares signed with the Maple Leafs last summer, he cited the allure of playing at home and how special an opportunity that was for him and his family.
In life, we do our best to follow our own path and not let the voices of others drown out our own dreams and aspirations. The notion that Kawhi didn’t care about how much the city loved him isn’t necessarily true and it would be hypocritical to think that he should have stayed because of how much the city loved him and made him feel like a true king of the north — which he is and should be remembered as.
Kawhi had to do what he felt was best for himself, his career and his family and if that’s going back home then going out with a championship and giving us a life time of memories in just one year is a hell of a way to go out. We wish him and his family the best and hope he does well out in Los Angeles and maybe he can bring the Clippers their first ever championship.
The reason why I decided to write this article wasn’t to reiterate what everyone else is saying about Kawhi, the disappointment of him leaving and the overall gratitude towards him for what he brought to the city and country but to look into his mindset that allowed him to be so successful this past year. I spend a lot of time thinking about connecting the dots and how certain things in life and a person’s mindset can be applied to our own lives and using those learnings to improve our own lives.
When we look back at Kawhi’s one year tenure in Toronto — actually let’s take it one step back. Before he was traded to the Raptors, Kawhi had made his intentions clear — he first requested a trade to the Los Angeles Lakers. When that request was denied he then asked to be traded to the Los Angeles Clippers which was denied as well. Eventually he was traded to Toronto which was probably the furthest he could have imaged being from LA.
Although there were initial speculative reports on whether Kawhi would even report to Toronto, he did show up for his introductory press conference in mid-September and announced at that time that he did want to be here and that he wasn’t just here to coast through the season. That last part is what I want to focus in on. In his heart, Kawhi knew he wanted to and would be in LA after this season. Based on how the trade for Paul George turned out and the behind the scenes moves Kawhi was making, it’s clear he never lost sight of that ultimate goal.
Despite that, Kawhi was a professional and he came to work every day. He stayed in the moment as he always said he did. He worked on his physical health, he stayed mentally locked in and committed himself to the team concept for one year with the goal of bringing the city and country its first ever championship.
When we think about our own lives, there are times or there are going to be times where you aren’t happy in your current situation. Maybe you’re working somewhere where you didn’t envision being or you’re on a project or a team that you didn’t specifically want to or ask to be on but were put on for whatever reason. You might be dealing with a personal life situation which isn’t ideal or what you want for yourself.
The mentality can sometimes be to sulk and start tuning out. We don’t engage, we try to distance ourselves and do the minimum of what’s required to keep things going but nothing more. That’s something Kawhi could have done. Each case is obviously different but he knew that he would be free to leave in one year’s time and he could have gone through the motions to fulfil his contractual opportunities for one year.
Instead Kawhi didn’t just go through the motions. He didn’t necessarily want to be in Toronto nor did he necessarily see any long term future where he was. He could have taken the easy way out but despite everything, he bought in. He committed to being the best player he could be, being a good teammate, putting in the work to learn a new system, a new team culture, working with a new medical and a coaching staff.
Each day he used a professionals approach to his work and gave everything he had and that led him to the ultimate success at seasons end. The next time you’re in a situation where you aren’t happy or where you want to be, instead of taking a negative spin and telling yourself things that bring you down, look at the situation as an opportunity to learn and grow. Make the best out of a situation and stay in the moment — you may end up growing to like the situation or turning it into a positive moving forward.
And even if you don’t, you’ll know that you gave your 100% and can live with whatever the results are afterwards. Kawhi knows he gave everything he had and even if the Raptors hadn’t won a championship, he wouldn’t have had any regrets because he knew he had committed himself 100% to the team goal. In sports, just like in life, we don’t always get the desired outcome we want but we can definitely set our mind right to look at things in a positive way and make the best out of a situation and hopefully learn, grow from it and move forward if we choose to move on.
Kawhi followed that mindset and despite leaving, he will always be remembered fondly in Toronto — the king of the north and a Toronto sports legend whenever he comes back to visit. And although you might not get your own statue or standing ovation for doing things the right way, you’ll have that internal feeling of accomplishment and validation knowing you did things the right way and took a situation that you maybe didn’t want to be in or didn’t ask to be in and made the best of it and over delivered.
If there’s one thing I’ve learned from watching Magic Johnson’s interview’s it’s his mindset of over delivering. The Raptors just wanted to get to an NBA finals — that was the early goal. Kawhi, along with his teammates over delivered and brought the city of Toronto a championship. You can do the same, in your own unique way. Do such an amazing job that people speak highly of you and want you to stay. And even if you decide not to stay, leave a positive, everlasting impression like Kawhi did.
