Kawhi Leonard visits Niagara Falls, a day after NBA championship parade - Toronto Star

NIAGARA FALLS, ONT.—Toronto Raptors superstar Kawhi Leonard and his family spent a few hours in Niagara Falls on Tuesday, a day after celebrating his team’s NBA championship during a parade in Toronto.

Videos and photos posted to social media show Leonard surrounded by fans down by the falls, many taking pictures of the player and chanting MVP.

Leonard was named NBA Finals MVP after his Raptors defeated the defending champion Golden State Warriors in six games last Thursday.

Niagara Parks Commission chairperson Sandie Bellows said she sent an email to the communications team with the Raptors inviting players and management to Niagara Falls on Monday.

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She said the email was sent after it came to her attention some of the players had expressed an interested in seeing Niagara Falls.

Bellows said Leonard visited some major attractions in the city, along with his two children, girlfriend, aunt, uncle and mother.

She said the family visited Journey Behind the Falls, the Butterfly Conservatory and Bird Kingdom.

Bellows said the family thought the sites were “fascinating.”

She said Leonard wanted the visit to be private, but that didn’t stop tourists from swarming the family when they noticed who they were.

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“I understand where the fans are coming from because he’s our hero, he’s Canadian as far as we’re concerned, but I understand his aspect of it, too,” she said.

Bellows said Leonard and his family were in the city for about three to four hours.

“He wasn’t a man of a lot of words, but you could tell they’re really family-oriented and, who knows, maybe they’ll come back again and visit.”

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Mayor Jim Diodati said local officials reached out to the Raptors and Leonard when they heard visiting Niagara Falls was on his “bucket list” of things to do when he was traded to the team last year.

“Who could have anticipated the day after the parade he just came down,” said Diodati.

“That’s huge. Right now, at this moment, he’s probably the No. 1 sports celebrity in the country.”

Diodati said many Canadians feel “a sense of ownership” of the Raptors because they are the only Canadian-based franchise in the NBA, and because “it’s such a humble team.”

“Everybody is so excited. Nobody could have predicted or anticipated the national unity that was created (during the Raptors’ championship run). This is a once-in-a-lifetime event that happened. We only have one team and even when the (Toronto) Blue Jays won (the World Series) in ’92 and ’93, we still had the (Montreal) Expos.”

While Leonard has been peppered with questions on whether he’s re-signing with the Raptors — and even offered gifts by fans to stay — the two-time NBA Finals MVP has remained tight-lipped with the decision looming.

Fans are looking for any hints he’ll stay, some hope that the visit is a sign he’ll return while others worry that this was the last thing to do in Canada before he leaves.

Leonard expressed his desire to visit the falls earlier this year while on teammate Serge Ibaka’s YouTube cooking show “How Hungry Are You?”

With files from Emma Sandri

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June 20, 2019 at 12:36AM