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Former Raptor Jalen Rose says Toronto should retire Kawhi Leonard’s number this upcoming season

Should the Toronto Raptors retire Kawhi Leonard’s number? According to retired NBA player and current broadcaster Jalen Rose, they should.

Leonard spent just one year with the team before moving on to join the Los Angeles Clippers, but his legacy in Canada is so much more than his iconic laugh and his “What it do baby?” quote. The small forward helped bring Toronto their first NBA championship and fans will be forever grateful. Leonard was named MVP of the 2019 NBA Finals after his team beat the Golden State Warriors and some believe that impact on the team should be cemented in history, and the rafters, with the hanging of the No. 2 jersey.

Jalen Rose can see this happening and believes it should:

“If I was a member of the Toronto Raptors, here’s what I would do. We’ve seen guys get video tributes that were questionable. The boss move? Retire his number that night…. I would retire his number that day. That’s what should happen. 

…. Here’s what I want you to think about. The Toronto Raptors have not been around for 60 years. They’ve been around for about 25 years. They’d never been to the Finals, they’d never won a championship. The greatest players in franchise history while in their uniform, Vince Carter, DeMar DeRozan. Got to give Biggie a shout, Damon Stoudamire. Tracy McGrady was a young player when he was there, and Chris Bosh.”

While Rose knows the names he listed above include some of the greatest Raptors of all time, he believes what Leonard did was different. He said, “You’re going to celebrate those guys as the greatest Raptors of all time…. But Kawhi did something uniquely special. You give him a standing ovation, and you retire his number when he returns!”  

NBA fans will not soon forget the impact Leonard had not only in the 2019 NBA finals, but in the playoffs when he delivered an unbelievable performance against the Sixers and a series clinching play that became a viral reaction meme and one of the top moments in the Raptors history. 

The comments spark a debate of what a player needs to do in order to deserve to have their number retired. Golden State Warriors owner Joe Lacob announced that while he was in charge no one else would wear No. 35, effectively retiring Kevin Durant‘s number. Durant is now with the Brooklyn Nets, but won two NBA Finals MVP in three years with the Warriors.

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