This one is for him – Leonard thanks Kobe Bryant after winning All-Star Game MVP
Dejan Kalinic
February 17, 2020 05:41 MYT
February 17, 2020 05:41 MYT
Kawhi Leonard dedicated his NBA All-Star Game Kobe Bryant MVP Award to the Los Angeles Lakers great on Sunday.
Leonard's 30 points helped Team LeBron beat Team Giannis 157-155 in Chicago and the Clippers star was named MVP.
The award was renamed in honour of the Lakers great, who died in a helicopter crash alongside his 13-year-old daughter Gianna and seven others last month.
Leonard thanked Bryant, telling NBA on TNT: "It means a lot to me.
"Words can't even explain, just making this the first Kobe Bryant MVP trophy. I want to thank Kobe for everything he done for me, all the long talks, the workouts, thank you.
"This one is for him."
Kawhi (30 PTS, 8 3PM) leads #TeamLeBron past #TeamGiannis 157-155 in the 2020 #NBAAllStar Game and wins the Kia NBA All-Star Game Kobe Bryant MVP Award! #KiaAllStarMVP CP3: 23 PTS, 7 3PM LeBron: 23 PTS Giannis: 25 PTS, 11 REB Kemba: 23 PTS, 5 3PM pic.twitter.com/Voa8Tz4MwU — NBA (@NBA) February 17, 2020
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Leonard added: "They did a great job with the format this year. They had us come out playing hard in the fourth quarter and competing for a total points score.
"That's pretty much how we got to competing out there."