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With his 17.8 points and 6.4 rebounds per game and his stifling defense against LeBron James in the 2014 NBA Finals, former San Diego State basketball star Kawhi Leonard won the 2014 ESPY for Best Championship Performance.
Let's be real here, though. Leonard is now an NBA champion and an NBA Finals MVP. His coach, Gregg Popovich, called him the future of one of the best franchises professional sports has ever seen: the San Antonio Spurs. So this silver sphere on top of a silver pyramid that says "ESPY" on it probably isn't the biggest thing in Leonard's life right now, but it still proves something: Leonard became a star during this year's NBA Finals.
Not only on the court, but with the public, too. Millions of fans voted on ESPN.com for the ESPY awards, and those fans liked what they saw in Leonard in this year's Finals. The fans selected Leonard's Finals performance over David Ortiz's World Series performance, Jimmie Johnson's NASCAR Sprint Cup performance and Shabazz Napier's NCAA Tournament performance. Leonard has become so much more popular that HE ACTUALLY CREATED A TWITTER ACCOUNT. Yes, folks. Kawhi Leonard. The shiest of them all--created a twitter. He even appeared as a guest on ABC's "Live with Michael and Kelly"--and smiled a whole lot.
Aztec fans are hoping this new stardom and popularity helps with SDSU recruiting. Only time will tell.