Kahwi Leonard Greeted Warmly in Canada, Fans Want NBA Team Back in Vancouver

Kahwi Leonard’s first comeback to Canada didn’t go as planned. The former Toronto Raptors’ leader and the NBA Finals MVP, suffered a loss last night in Vancouver. His LA Clippers were defeated by the Dallas Mavericks, with 102-87. But the fans adored one of the best players in the league.

Kahwi played for 22 minutes and scored 13 points, with three boards and two dimes. He was welcomed warmly by the fans, who expressed their gratitude towards the Claw, who took the Canadian basketball to another level last year.

From the first moment, since he entered the court for a warm-up until he left Rogers Place, he would be getting cheers and ovations.

Leonard explained that everywhere he goes to Canada, he is treated well and with respect, even after he jumped to LA.

“It was great just to be back,” said the reigning champ. “Just going around in the summertime, even after me signing with the Clippers, Canadians came up to me that are in America or vice versa when I was out there, and they said ‘thank you’ for everything I’d done. Very nice people.”

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Meanwhile, his new coach, Doc Rivers, stated that Kawhi deserves such treatment, because he put the Canadian basketball on top of the NBA, and increased the overall popularity of the same.

“They should be excited,” Clippers coach Doc Rivers said before the game. “He did something very special for this country. So that’ll be a lot of fun for him, for sure.”

And really, the mass hysteria, in not only Toronto but the entire country las year was stunning. For one brief moment, basketball dethroned hockey as the No.1 sport among the northern neighbors.

Toronto’s title just increased the love of the Canadian people towards the NBA, and that was obvious all over Vancouver who used to have a franchise. Big signs with messages saying that the fans want another team here were pretty noticeable in and outside the Rogers Place.

“Grizzlies are indigenous to Vancouver,” wrote on one sign, “NBA, please come back!” read another.

During the game, the spectators started chanting, “We want Grizzlies.”

All that pretty much due to euphoria Kawhi created. The 28-year old gave credit to both the fans and the city following the match, saying that his experience here tonight was awesome.

“(Vancouver’s) a great basketball town, a great city,” Leonard told the journalists. “You see how they came out tonight, full building. So it was great just to be back.”

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As for the game itself, the Mavs were better right from the start, creating a 19-point lead in the first quarter and keeping the Clippers on a safe distance until the end. Doc Rivers’ team scored just 13 points in the opening 12 minutes, and the famous coach wasn’t very pleased with the way his team played.

“We’ve got different guys playing with different guys. So we just missed shots,” Rivers said after the game. “We’ve got four or five days (before the regular season begins to get right.”

Clippers had just 36.6% from the field and 24.2 behind the three-point line. Meanwhile, the Mavs were much more accurate, especially from downtown, where they made 15 hits in 39 attempts.

Also, Dallas had massive aerial domination with 58 boards, 19 more than their rivals.

The Clippers played and lost all their three preseason matches, and are opening the season against the Lakers next Tuesday. Two days after that, they head for San Francisco to meet the Warriors. All in all, a very tough way to start the campaign.

Meanwhile, the Mavs are playing at home against the Wizards on Wednesday, and head for New Orleans to face Zion Williamson and the young Pelicans two days afterward.