Drake Reveals Kawhi Leonard's Feelings Towards Toronto

The friendship between Drake and Kawhi Leonard has been well documented, with the two Toronto legends having spent significant time together during Kawhi's time with the Raptors. On Monday evening, Drake joined the broadcast booth during the Toronto Raptors vs. Houston Rockets pre-season game, and provided some exclusive insight into Kawhi's current feelings towards Toronto.
When speaking about Kawhi, Drake said, "One thing about Kawhi that I can tell the people, is that whenever I see him, he expresses the utmost gratitude and always says how much he misses the fans in the city... That's my guy, and he is really grateful for his time here. We definitely miss him for sure."
While Kawhi ultimately decided to come home and join the LA Clippers in 2019, the superstar still has love for the city of Toronto. Having helped bring the country their first NBA title, there will understandably always be love for Kawhi in Canada. According to Drake, that love is absolutely reciprocated on Kawhi's end.
If it were not for Kawhi's affinity for Southern California and his desire to finish out his career at home, some believe he would have had an ideal basketball situation with the Toronto Raptors. While Kawhi has yet to recreate the success he had in Toronto with the Clippers, he will have several more chances having signed a 4-year / $176M contract extension with the franchise this offseason.
Kawhi will begin the year rehabbing a partial ACL tear, but there is cautious optimism that he can return at some point during the season.
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Joey Linn is a credentialed writer covering the NBA and WNBA for On SI. Covering the LA Clippers independently in 2018, then for Fansided and 213Hoops from 2019-2021, Joey joined On SI to cover the Clippers after the 2020-21 season. Graduating from Biola University in 2022 with a Communication Studies degree, Joey served as Biola's play-by-play announcer for their basketball, baseball, softball, and soccer teams. Joey's work on Biola's broadcasts and in the classroom earned him the Outstanding Communication Studies Student of the year award in 2022. Joey covers the NBA full-time, primarily serving as a Clippers beat writer.
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