The Toronto Raptors are the 2018–2019 NBA champions!

And the Finals MVP is none other than Kawhi Leonard, the stoic, reserved superstar who has arguably become the greatest Toronto Raptor in his first season with the team.

His quiet, soft-spoken personality is in stark contrast to other superstars in the league who flaunt their lifestyles on social media, pursue media and philanthropic opportunities, and even go into venture capital. For Leonard, family comes first, and basketball is merely his profession.

As an introvert, it irks me when sports media has an unsettling obsession with his behaviour as a person, everything from his unique laugh to his “robotic” tendencies. As can be seen in his in-depth interviews with teammates Serge Ibaka and Kyle Lowry, he’s a super fun guy to hang around, is articulate, and has a dry sense of humour. However, the media chose to brand him as weird and off-putting solely because he isn’t as gregarious or extroverted as most other NBA stars. I often wish that reporters focused more on the ridiculous stats that he’s putting up on the court, especially during the playoffs thanks to load management.

I wholeheartedly believe that instead of making fun of Leonard, we should just let him be. Nothing is worse than to have your personality examined through a microscope and dissected for all the world to see. He’s a normal person who happens to be the best two-way player in the league, shuns social media (although he was briefly active on Twitter in 2015), and has New Balance to amplify his personal brand for him.

I’m super grateful that I got to witness Kawhi Leonard play for my hometown team not only because he helped us bring home our very first NBA title, but he also did it on his own terms: a celebrity on the court, an Average Joe elsewhere.

Although we may not know if he decides to stay with Toronto for at least another two weeks, I can proudly wear my Raptors gear around town and proclaim at the top of my lungs:

WE THE NORTH