Many men and women have failed at lesser tasks.



“We set a high bar,” said Jerry Ferguson, senior director of brand and creative at Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment Limited. “We knew we wanted to tell an emotive story. We wanted to get to him.”



When it comes to Kawhi Leonard, that is a big ask, whether it comes on the court or off of it. Many marketing campaigns have been built around the quiet, minimalistic, never-tip-your-hand persona of the superstar forward. While the man himself is more complex than that, there is a whole bunch of truth in the popular generalization of Leonard as cyborg.



Ferguson was prominently involved in the Raptors’ efforts to welcome back Leonard, the NBA Finals MVP who left Toronto for the Los Angeles Clippers in free agency. If the situation was not unique, it was close to it. Stars who switch teams in the summertime are usually disliked by their old fan base. Even if that is not the case, they are...