The Toronto Raptors claimed their first NBA championship on Thursday night when they defeated the Golden State Warriors in a game that lived up to the hype. But while the game was exciting and came down to the wire, it was once again mired by injury, as Klay Thompson suffered a torn ACL during the game. Taking to social media after the game, Kyle Kuzma spoke of how this championship was karma for what happened to Kawhi Leonard in 2017:
https://twitter.com/kylekuzma/status/1139379393854226434
Kuzma credited this victory to karma, saying that this was revenge from the 2017 Western Conference Finals, where Kawhi Leonard initially hurt his leg against the Warriors. Of course, it didn’t sit well with some of Twitter, as the replies to the tweet have been a mixed bag.
While Kuzma likely meant no harm by the tweet, it did take a bit of a turn after it was revealed that Klay Thompson had torn his ACL during the game (Kuzma did pay his respects). Thompson joined Kevin Durant — who ruptured his Achilles during Game 5 — as another injured Warrior who was forced to bow out of the series prematurely.
Pointing to karma for any sort of win or loss, especially when injuries are involved, is always tough, but it wouldn’t be shocking to see many players think that way. When Leonard initially went down in 2017, many believed it was due to a dirty play by Zaza Pachulia, so for Leonard to finally defeat the Warriors — albeit on the Raptors — does have a bit of poetic justice to it.
Unfortunately, it came in a series that could have been truly great, but will be remembered for catastrophic injuries and Leonard dominating the postseason.
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