The Tao of Kawhi Leonard: Related Stories and Resources
The Related Stories and Resources page is where you can find additional material related to the essay The Tao of Kawhi Leonard by Terence C. Gannon. You can also listen to the original essay on your favourite podcasting platform where it appeared as part of the Not There Yet podcast narrated by the author. Items below appear in reverse chronological order based on the date of original publication.
Kawhi Leonard’s Decision Will Reveal More About Him Than We’ve Ever Known Bleacher Report, July 5, 2019 by Grant Hughes. We think the author has done an excellent job of capturing what is actually known about the completely unknowable process by which Kawhi Leonard will pick the team for which he wants to play next. We have to add that this waiting game we are all playing is almost as good as waiting for Game 6.
Toronto needs to channel its inner Kawhi, be cool, and leave the poor man alone Toronto Star, June 20, 2019 by Bruce Arthur. This article captures perfectly the growing feeling we have about what Raptors’ fans in Toronto should (and should not) do to try and keep Kawhi Leonard with the team.
DeRozan: I Was Sacrificial Lamb for Raptors Take It There with Taylor Rooks, June 4, 2019. An interesting interview with DeMar DeRozan whose trade to San Antonio so infuriated the author in The Tao of Kawhi Leonard. It’s informative to hear DeRozan’s take on the trade directly from him. It turns out the perception he was personally hurt by the transaction was fairly accurate. The interview has a few other nuggets like the Spurs’ Coach Popovich using the movie The March of the Penguins as a teaching tool for the team. What we wouldn’t have done to be a fly on the wall during that screening.
In Canada, Basketball Is the New Hockey (OK, Not Really, But It’s Exciting) Wall Street Journal, May 31st, 2019 by Jason Gay. It is always interesting to see how the US media views Canada. Games played in Toronto for the 2019 NBA Finals have provided an irresistable incentive for them to come north for a closer look. This article by Jason Gay touches of a number of the same themes as The Tao of Kawhi Leonard.
Kawhi Leonard and the Discipline of Silence Medium, November 15, 2018 by Kitanya Harrison. This is the article which helped trigger The Tao of Kawhi Leonard. Keep in mind Kitanya’s article was written back in November of last year when the rest of us were still trying to figure out this new guy — she seems to have begun decoding Leonard well ahead of the crowd. Excerpt: “His stubborn silence is quite an act of rebellion in a culture that has everyone clamoring for attention and desperate to rack up likes and retweets. Every time he chooses not to speak, he rebukes that value system. In addition, he’s set a clear boundary that he enforces ruthlessly: his duty to entertain the fans stops when the game is over.” It’s well worth reading the rest of Kitanya’s article.
Finding Big Country STORYHIVE, October 21, 2018 by Kat Jayme. All of the current excitement about the Toronto Raptors as sparked renewed interest in the Vancouver Grizzlies, the NBA franchise which was based in Vancouver, British Columbia from 1995 through to 2001 when they were sold and moved to Memphis. It reminded us of Kat Jayme’s film Finding Big Country. It’s the filmmaker’s very personal story of the contoversial Bryant ‘Big Country’ Reeves who was the high profile face of the franchise for a number of years. For both old and new NBA fans, it’s a great trip down memory lane and begs the question “any chance they could move back?”
Kawhi Leonard still drives a ‘97 Chevy, loves Wingstop Sports Illustrated’s Extra Mustard, March 15, 2016. Now that Kawhi Leonard has led the Toronto Raptors to their first NBA championship, all talk has now turned to his looming free agency and the question ‘will he stay?’ A tantalizing hint for prognosticators comes in an old article from Sports Illustrated’s Extra Mustard blog. Back in 2016, it reported that despite having signed a $94-million contract, Leonard drove a ‘97 Chevy Tahoe because “it runs, and it’s paid off.” There’s another intriguing hint in the same article: Leonard’s apparent dismay at having misplaced some Wingstop coupons. Both examples make us think those apocryphal stories of a Kawhi sighting in the Hudson’s Bay store signing up for a loyalty card aren’t all that far-fetched after all? These anecdotes seem to support our assertion it may not be about the money – other than keeping score, of course – but rather what opportunity may provide the most normal life for the Kawhi and his family.
Kyūdō Wikipedia. One of the most frequently asked questions since the publication of The Tao of Kawhi Leonard is for more information about the “the ancient Japanese martial art of ritual archery” mentioned in the article. We can’t think of a better place to start than where we always start when kicking off the research on a new story.
