Every significant personnel decision in the NBA is a gamble, because it’s impossible to predict how well powerful personalities will mesh, how talents on the court will blend, how or if bonds will be formed that strengthen the group or tear it apart.

It was with that in mind that Masai Ujiri made a seismic move last July, a move he thought might work but one that he wasn’t sure would.

Friday night in Oakland, in outtakes from an ESPN interview, Kyle Lowry and Kawhi Leonard proved Ujiri something of a genius for the gamble the Toronto Raptors president took when he brought them together.

Lowry was sitting there basking in the glow of an NBA championship when Leonard, hugging his most valuable player trophy, wandered on to the set. It set off a minute of laughs and jokes and sharing of the MVP trophy and so much mutual respect that it was, in some ways, inspiring.

Two men, strangers less than a year ago, now friends forever — and forever linked to the greatest moment in franchise history.

“Obviously, like I said when I was there on my opening-day meeting, I was focused on the now, and I wanted to make history here and that’s all I did,” Leonard said.

And all it took to set the wheels in motion was a quick, simple text.

Leonard knew how close Lowry was to DeMar DeRozan when the seminal trade between the Raptors and San Antonio Spurs went down last July, and he knew it would not be easy for Lowry to accept such a gigantic change to his professional life.

“When he texted me it was a quick text, and just showed the type of person he is,” Lowry said in the aftermath of Toronto’s championship performance over the Golden State Warriors. “Willing to reach out, understanding that this situation was a little bit sensitive. But he knew that he felt something could be done special with our group.”

It has been interesting to see the relationship between Lowry and Leonard evolve in the one memorable season they have shared, a study in character and commitment and personal dynamics.

They could not be much different personally, the 31-year-old from Philadelphia and the 27-year-old Californian. While hardly gregarious all the time, Lowry is a far more open book than Leonard is. They don’t share the same personal bond that Lowry and DeRozan did. They are different and theirs is a different relationship — not necessarily better or worse than any before it, in the enclave of the Raptors locker room.

The relationship was built on one common goal: the pursuit of excellence.

Leonard’s arrival meant Lowry’s load in the Raptors offence could be scaled back so that the gritty point guard could do what he does best: play hard and lead by example.

Lowry’s presence gave Leonard something of a kindred basketball spirit, someone to analyze the game and the team with.

“Probably out of everybody who I talk to about film, the most is Kyle,” Leonard said during the just-completed NBA Finals. “Me and him will watch film or talk to each other, see what we are seeing on the floor, either for ourselves or positions to make our teammates better.”

And that is the essence of their relationship: an intense desire to push themselves, each other and their team to untold heights. It’s been fun to watch it blossom, fun to see them take the Raptors to the team’s first championship. The gamble Ujiri took paid off, regardless of what the future brings.

The Leonard text may go down as one of the most significant small steps a Raptor has ever taken.

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“The guys here have been making runs in the playoffs before I came, so I know they were a talented team,” Leonard said. ”And I just came in with the right mindset: Let’s go out and win ball games.

“I texted Kyle probably a day later — or the day that I got traded — and told him. I said: Let’s go out and do something special. I know your best friend left, I know you’re mad, but let’s make this thing work out.”

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