During Thursday evening's contest between the San Antonio Spurs and the Toronto Raptors, Spurs fans started chanting “Uncle Dennis.” For those wondering, “Uncle Dennis” is Toronto Raptors forward Kawhi Leonard's uncle and the reference to his family member made him laugh on the bench.

This game with the Spurs and Raptors has been on everyone's mind since the huge blockbuster trade that went down this past summer. The Spurs traded their star lockdown defender Kawhi Leonard and their wing Danny Green to the Raptors for their star guard DeMar DeRozan and big man Jakob Poetl.

How it all began is when Kawhi Leonard got injured coming into the 2017-18 season. Instead of coming back when the Spurs medical staff said he could, he stayed out the entire season and entirely distanced himself from the team. His relationship with management and head coach Gregg Popovich was completely severed. This is why they moved on and sent him up north.

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The season prior Leonard was having an MVP-like season. He finished third in MVP voting to James Harden and Russell Westbrook, who both set the league ablaze with their penchant for triple-doubles in 2016-17 season.

This season, Leonard is averaging 27.3 points, 8.2 rebounds, and 2.8 assists per game while shooting 49.7 percent from the field and 36.1 percent from deep. He’s again an MVP candidate after leading the Raptors to the best seed in the Eastern Conference and has been the best player in the Eastern Conference all year.

DeRozan has found a new home with the Spurs. He’s completely abandoned his poor three-point shot and focused on scoring from midrange and on drives to the lane. He’s averaging 22.9 points, 5.9 rebounds, and 6.3 assists while shooting 47.7 percent from the field, a career-high.

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