Kawhi Leonard on the 2020 NBA Championship: 'We want it'

Whatever happens during the 2020 season, Kawhi Leonard wants the championship.

There's been a lot of talk on how fans should categorize the 2020 NBA championship. Should it have an asterisk? Is it going to have a gold star? To Kawhi Leonard, it doesn't matter. The only thing that matters is that he wants it.

"Everybody is happy that a championship will be crowned this year, and if that's the 2020 championship, then we want it." - Kawhi Leonard

In terms of whether or not there's an asterisk, Leonard says people will simply have to accept it. At this point, it's not just the NBA season that's irregular this year, it's everything. Everyone in the entire country is experiencing an irregular year, not just basketball. No one knows when America is going back to normal, so for now, this irregularity is the new regular.

"This is just the layout of this year," Leonard said. "Just pretty much stay focused. It's not like a regular NBA season. Nobody's life is pretty much how they planned it to be at this point with the pandemic."

If a player starts talking about this season having an asterisk or a gold star, they're already making excuses about the season itself. At this point, everyone is in the bubble, everyone is dealing with the same bizarre circumstances as everyone else. Some teams are missing players, but teams miss players in a regular NBA season all the time. 

There has always been a degree of randomness when it comes to winning an NBA championship. In 2015, LeBron James had to face the Golden State Warriors without Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love. In 2020, every NBA team is playing in a unique bubble situation. These are the cards that have been dealt, and Kawhi Leonard understands that.

"You take it for what it is."