There is an odd circularity to the Spurs—21 years after drafting Tim Duncan, who wore no. 21 and whose full name (Timothy Theodore Duncan) is 21 letters long—appearing to fully lose their grip on their new foundational superstar, who wears no. 2, which is one additional number short of being the new 21, and whose full name (Kawhi Anthony Leonard) is 19 letters long, just two away from 21; two like his jersey number; 21 like Duncan’s jersey number.
“Do you know what a coincidence is, Lisa?” —Steve Jobs, in the movie Steve Jobs
“See, what you have to ask yourself is: What kind of person are you? Are you the kind that sees signs, that sees miracles? Or do you believe that people just get lucky? Or, look at the question this way: Is it possible that there are no coincidences?” —Graham Hess, in the movie Signs
“Everything happens for a reason.” —Laverne Roberts, in the TV show Scrubs
“Giles, there are two things that I don’t believe in: Coincidence and leprechauns.” —Buffy, in the TV show Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Did you know that the no. 2, like the one that Kawhi wears, is oftentimes, in the Bible anyway, used as a symbol to mean a division of sorts? Because it is. (It is also, oftentimes, in the Bible anyway, used as a symbol to mean a union of sorts, as it were, which is either wildly ironic or wildly not. Who’s to say? Not me. Not you. Jesus, perhaps. But he’s not talking.)
(Jesus was 33 when he died.)
(3 x 3 = 9)
(Jesus had 12 apostles.)
(12 + 9 = 21, which is the number of letters in Tim’s full name, and the number of his jersey, and the number of years ago he was drafted.)
Did you know that Adele has an album called 19, which, as mentioned, is the number of letters in Kawhi’s full name, and that Adele also has an album called 21, which, as mentioned, is the number of letters in Tim’s full name? And also did you know that 21 was considerably more successful and monumental than 19? Because it was, and you can squint your eyes even the tiniest amount and still see the analogy being drawn here.
The no. 21 can be separated to be a 2 and a 1, and 2 + 1 = 3, and three is the second prime number, and if you multiply that by seven, which is the fourth prime number and also a holy number, then you get 21, and we’re right back to where we started.
Also, the no. 3 is a Fibonacci number, same as 21, and what’s more, the no. 3 is the fourth Fibonacci number, and the no. 21 is the eighth Fibonacci number, and 4 + 8 = 12, and 12 is just 21 backward, and also it’s 1 + 2 = 3, and we’re right back to where we started.
Did you know that in Rocky III, potentially the best actual Rocky movie, the main bad guy’s name is Clubber, and Clubber has seven letters in it, same as Timothy, so Clubber/Timothy (7) x Rocky III (3) = 21, which is the number of letters in Tim’s name, and the number of his jersey, and the number of years ago he was drafted?
Did you know that in Rocky V, potentially the worst actual Rocky movie, the main bad guy’s name is Tommy, and Tommy has five letters in it, the same as Kawhi, and also Rocky V has a 27 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and 27 - 5 = 22, and 22 is just the no. 2 twice in a row, and the no. 2 is Kawhi’s jersey number, the no. 2 twice in a row equals four, and Kawhi’s college number was 15, and 5 - 1 = 4?
In 2003, the rapper 50 Cent had a song called “21 Questions,” and 21 is significant because you already know why, but consider this: The 19th question that 50 Cent asks is quite literally, “How deep is our bond if that’s all it takes for you to be gone?” And, again, 19 is the number of letters in Kawhi’s full name, and so 50 Cent choosing to ask that exact question at that exact time cannot, in any way, be considered a coincidence, given that Kawhi is considering being gone now.
More: 50 Cent’s real name is Curtis James Jackson III, and “Curtis James Jackson III” is 21 characters long, the same number as Tim’s full name, and the same number that he wore on his jersey, and the same number of years ago that he was drafted, and that cannot, in any way, be considered a coincidence.
More: The John F. Kennedy version of the half-dollar coin (or, another way to say it: a 50-cent piece) was designed in 1964, and 1964 can be broken down as such: 19 is the number of letters in Kawhi’s full name, and 6 + 4 = 10, 19 + 10 = 29, and 29 is the number of minutes Tim Duncan averaged during the 2014 championship season, and that’s the only of the five championships he has that he won alongside Kawhi Leonard, and that cannot, in any way, be considered a coincidence.
In 2014, five months after Kawhi and Tim won the championship together (2014 + 5 = 2019; 19 is the number of letters in Kawhi’s full name, and 20 is 2 + 0, and 2 + 0 = 2, and 19 + 2 = 21, the number of letters in Tim’s full name, and also his jersey number, and also the number of years ago he was drafted), a movie called The Gambler came out. There are three letters in “The” and seven letters in “Gambler,” and 3 x 7 = 21.
More: The main character is named Jim Bennett and he has a gambling problem, and a big part of the plot is he’s given one week to repay a debt or he’ll be murdered. There are three letters in “Jim” and seven letters in “Bennett,” and 3 x 7 = 21. Also, the movie ends with Jim betting a large sum of money on a roulette spin. The roulette ball ends up landing on 22, and the roulette number (22) minus the number of weeks he was given to repay the money he owed (1) equals 21.
More: Three years before Kawhi Leonard was drafted (3 = 2 + 1), a movie called 21 was released (2 + 1 = 3). In it, the main character was named Ben, and there are three letters in “Ben” (3 = 2 + 1). Also, the person who played Ben was named Jim in real life, and that’s the same as the main character from The Gambler, and very close to the name “Tim,” I might add. And also there’s a quick shot early in 21 where a teacher takes a look at a test that Ben had taken; he got a 97 on it, and 9 - 7 = 2, which is Kawhi’s jersey number, and also nine divided by three, which is the number of years the movie came out before Kawhi was drafted, is three, and 3 x 7 = 21, which is the number of letters in Tim’s full name, and also his jersey number, and also the number of years ago that he was drafted.
There’s an odd circularity to it all, really, truly, actually, and not accidentally.
An earlier version of this piece incorrectly stated that three is the first prime number and seven is the third prime number; three is the second prime number, and seven is the fourth prime number.