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Masai Ujiri wagered the Raptors' culture for Kawhi Leonard. Will it work?

A version of this story appears in ESPN The Magazine's Oct. 29 NBA Preview Issue. Subscribe today!

ON A GRAY August morning in 2015, Raptors president Masai Ujiri has had enough of an impromptu lockout. He's outside a weathered basketball gym in Lagos with a camera crew and 55 young men clad in teal T-shirts that read "Nigeria Dreams Big." Because of the cameras, facility staffers believe there's money to be made and have barred the doors. Instead of sending staff to deal with them, Ujiri goes himself. What the men in charge don't know is that Ujiri grew up with their boss.