Leonard won the honor with seven of the 12 votes for MVP, while LeBron James was the next closest with three. Anthony Davis and Chris Paul earned one vote each.
Basketball
The NBA All-Star Game 2020 was recently held at the United Center in Chicago on Sunday. Team LeBron and Team Giannis competed in a thriller match as Team LeBron led by LeBron James edged over Team Giannis with 157-155 final score. Team Giannis was captained by Giannis Antetokounmpo- second in a row.
NBA earlier announced that the All-Star MVP would be named after late Lakers legend Kobe Bryant who passed away in a helicopter accident last month.
Kawhi Leonard from the Team LeBron was honored with the first Kobe Bryant All-Star MVP Award for his spectacular performance. Kawhi scored a game-high 30 points, seven rebounds, four assists, and two steals. He shot 8 from behind the arc while 7 of them came in the first half and also tied the All-Star game record for threes made in a half.
Kawhi takes home the first-ever Kobe Bryant MVP Award! #NBAAllStar pic.twitter.com/cGPQqGPBb2
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) February 17, 2020
He finished the game shooting 11-of-18 from the field and 8-of-14 from the three-point line.
"It means a lot to me. You know, words can't even explain, making this the first Kobe Bryant MVP trophy. I want to thank Kobe for everything he's done for me. All the long talks and workouts. Thank you. This one's for him."
Leonard said post-game.
Leonard won the honor with seven of the 12 votes for MVP, while LeBron James was the next closest with three. Anthony Davis and Chris Paul earned one vote each.
