For Spurs' Kawhi Leonard, winning NBA title on Father's Day has 'special meaning'

San Antonio Spurs forward Kawhi Leonard won his first NBA title on Sunday night, becoming the third-youngest MVP in NBA Finals history along the way.

For Leonard, winning on Father's Day made it particularly significant.

“It’s a very special meaning for me,” Leonard said, via SI.com. “Knowing that he’s gone, winning a championship on Father’s Day.”

At the age of 43, Leonard's father, Mark, was shot and killed at the car wash he owned in Los Angeles. Leonard was a junior in high school at the time.

“Basketball helps me take my mind off things, picking me up every day when I’m feeling down,” Leonard told the Los Angeles Times back in 2008, just two months after the shooting.

Now, Leonard sits firmly atop the basketball world.