In the hours before Kawhi Leonard was presented with his NBA title ring Wednesday night, Doc Rivers, Leonard’s newish coach with the Los Angeles Clippers, attempted to describe the depth of the connection that’s formed between a championship team and its city.
Rivers spoke of it as an eternal and sacred bond. A “blood transfusion,” he called it.
“It really is. You’re connected for life when you win a title. Not only with a fan base but with those players in the organization you won it with,” Rivers said.
In that sense Leonard, Rivers reasoned, will be connected to Toronto “for the rest of his life.