The Toronto Raptors' incredible tribute video to Kawhi Leonard shows how beloved he is in the North. However, fans curious about his championship ring with the Raps will be quite surprised to find a middle-finger emoji engraved on it.
Fans who love drama will immediately assume that this is the team's subtle jab at the now Los Angeles Clippers star for not choosing them during the summer. However, according to Michael Lee of The Athletic, there's a far less sinister reason behind the odd mark on his ring.
Kawhi Leonard said he has a middle finger emoji engraved inside his TOR championship ring – which is the size of spaceship but looks normal on his hand – but there isn't some hidden message: "It reminds me, 'Put it on my middle finger.' " Spurs ring was sized for his index finger
— Michael Lee (@MrMichaelLee) December 12, 2019
For such a wholesome thing to be the reason behind such a blunt insult is such a Kawhi thing to happen. It's another perfect example of how strange yet fitting the one-year rental of the Klaw has been for the Raptors.
Article Continues BelowKawhi hasn't been shy when it comes to talking about his hand. His enormous hands not only make jewelry a difficult thing for him, but it also affects some aspect of his basketball life.
“It's just kinda difficult shooting sometimes,” Leonard said, per Business Insider's Scott Davis. “It's just difficult. A lot of hard work. You know, sometimes, like, if you shoot a girl's basketball, it's smaller, it's hard to shoot it, hard to roll off your hands. So, some games or some shots that I do shoot it, it'll be too far in my hands, so I have to really focus on that.”
His shooting wasn't affected when he played against his former team, though. Through 32 minutes of play, he got 23 points, five rebounds, six assists and two steals on 57 percent shooting. The Clippers triumphed over the Raptors, 112-92.