Kawhi Leonard was honored with the first-ever Kobe Bryant MVP Award.
The Clippers star recorded 30 points on 11-18 shooting and led Team LeBron to a victory over Team Giannis at the United Center. As soon as he was announced as the recipient of the first ever Bryant MVP Award, 'The Klaw' shared his admiration for the 'Black Mamba'.
“It’s very special. 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,” he said.
Leonard, who was two finals MVPs after helping San Antonio and Toronto win championships, made history as the 7th. player in history to be named as an All-Star starter with three different teams.
Even though the 28 year-old is only missing the regular season MVP in his trophy cabinet, he revealed that is not a priority for him at this point.
“My mindset is always just to try to make my team the best team at the end of the regular season,” Leonard said. “And if I'm fortunate enough to win a regular season MVP, then I'll be happy with it. 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.”