Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard is jumping toward the hoop, towering over the Miami defense, his right hand holding the ball, his face anticipating a dunk.

Such is the scene captured in the Sports Illustrated June 23 cover that pays homage to San Antonio Spurs's win over Miami Heat in Game 5. 

An NBA report said the cover photo was a proper way to capture the winning team, which exerted effort to come up with the impressive win, capped off by a 104-87 score, mostly the making of the star on the cover.

A CBS report said Leonard has become a force in the NBA, scoring more than some teammates who are slated to be Hall of Famers. The report added that the San Antonio crowd loved Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili; but with Leonard's free throws in the Sunday match, the crowd gave him the "M-V-P" chant.

Leonard had an impressive series, stepping up to the plate with an average of 12.8 points and 6.2 rebounds this season--third in scores and tied for second in rebounds in the team's statistics. He's now the second youngest player to be named Finals MVP--Magic was 20 in 1980--and he's still not in his prime, CBS noted.

CBS also wrote that the Spurs's performance had people talking about them with several positive adjectives like dominant, systematic, explosive, unselfish, redemptive and fun. The cover story, authored by senior writer Lee Jenkins, touches on many of these attributes, the NBA reported.

Sports Illustrated also describes the moment Leonard took the MVP trophy on Father's Day, years after the unsolved killing of his dad.

"Seeing Kawhi's expression when they called his name, that was special," said Ginobili, as quoted by the CBS report.

"I hope you don't put too much pressure on him," Parker told the media, "because he's still got time."

"We do it as a team and we play together, and Kawhi won that award and it's well-deserved," he added. "At the same time, you have to let him grow. He's only 22."

There will be a Kawhi Leonard Era in San Antonio, the CBS report predicted, and he looks capable and interested.