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Kawhi Leonardmay be one of the biggest stars in the NBA, but he keeps his relationship with his longtime girlfriend Kishele Shipley out of the spotlight.
“For me, it was a family situation more so than a basketball decision. Basketball is going to be here long without me, so I feel like when we’re here, we just have to make sure we share it with our loved ones, and that’s one of the big reasons why I came to the Clippers,” he toldYahoo Sports.
So, who is Kawhi Leonard’s girlfriend of over a decade? Keep reading to learn more about Kisele Shipley.
She met Leonard in college
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Shipley and Leonard met while they were both attending San Diego State University. Both are California natives, with Shipley hailing from San Diego, while Leonard is from Riverside, California.
Leonard played for the university’s men’s basketball team, the Aztecs, leading them to win the Mountain West Conference championship his freshman year. His efforts also helped the team land a spot in the NCAA championship that year, as well as the next year, where they advanced to the Sweet 16.
Shipley was studying public administration at San Diego State, and she graduated with a bachelor’s degree. Leonard, however, left the school in 2011 to join that year’s NBA Draft, where he signed with the San Antonio Spurs.
She and Leonard sparked engagement rumors in 2022
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Leonard and Shipley have yet to comment on the engagement rumors.
She and Leonard keep their relationship low-key
The NBA star has been known to stay out of the public eye, and his relationship with Shipley is one of the many parts of his life that he keeps private. Both Leonard and Shipley refrain from using social media, and neither of them have Instagram or Twitter accounts.
In fact, Leonard’s private nature dates back to before he became an NBA star.
His mom, Kim Robertson, once said in an interview with theSan Diego Union-Tribune: “What people don’t understand is Kawhi doesn’t really care about the hype, or about this big name or that big name. That’s not what he’s about. He just wants to play basketball, that’s it.”
She and Leonard share two children together
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Shipley welcomed her first child with Leonard in 2016, a daughter named Kaliyah.
While the couple keep their kids out of the spotlight, Kaliyah did make a rare red carpet appearance with her mom and dad in 2019 at theNickelodeon Kids Choice Awardsin Santa Monica, California.
In April 2019, fans were worried when Leonard missed a game against the Chicago Bulls, but it was later revealed that the reason for his absence was thebirth of his second childwith Shipley, a son whose name has not yet been revealed to the public.
Speaking to PEOPLE in 2020, Leonard shared that he and his family were staying safe andenjoying downtimeduring the lockdown.
"[We’re] really just trying to play some home games, table games with family and friends, and just trying to stay safe, pretty much," he said. “We’ve got a tabletop game, Sequence. We play cards, spades and with the kids, we do puzzles, riddles, things like that. It’s been fun.”
She’s his biggest supporter
When Leonard led the Toronto Raptors to the 2019 Finals and scored 22 points in Game 6 against the Golden State Warriors,securing their championship win, Shipley was quick to congratulate him on his victory with a teary hug.
She factored into Leonard’s decision to play for the Clippers
Although Leonard did not mention Shipley specifically, the former Toronto Raptors player said that his move to L.A. to play for the Clippers was made with his family in mind.
“It was about what the future has to hold. And for me, myself and my family, that’s what type of decision I had to make. It’s no discredit to Toronto, I just wanted to play at home,” he said in his interview with Yahoo Sports in 2019.
source: people.com
