Off the court, Kawhi is surely supported by his longtime girlfriend, Kishele Shipley. While she stays out of the spotlight, Kishele is Kawhi's biggest fan, cheering him on from his days playing in college to in the NBA.
So, who is Kishele Shipley and what is her relationship with the LA Clippers' star like? Here's everything HELLO! knows about the college sweethearts.
Kawhi and Kishele met while attending San Diego State University. The two are both from California, Kawhi from Riverside and Kishele from San Diego, and went to the school in 2010. While there, the basketball player was the star of their team, leading them to win the Mountain West Conference championship his freshman year.
Kishele graduated with a bachelor's degree in public administration from the school, while her boyfriend left the school in 2011 when he was drafted in the first round for the San Antonio Spurs. The two have been together ever since.
"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 told Yahoo Sports.
Neither Kawhi nor Kishele have social media profiles, and for Kawhi at least, his desire to be private has been a lifelong decision. His mom, Kim Robertson, told the San Diego Union-Tribune in 2011: "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."
Over a decade after they met, the couple were seen arriving at LAX together with Kishele wearing a large diamond ring on her left ring finger, per TMZ. Clippers fans immediately wondered if she and Kawhi were engaged.
But, years later, the couple has yet to comment on the engagement rumors or confirm if they've walked down the aisle.
In 2016, Kishele gave birth to her and Kawhi's first child together, a daughter named Kaliyah. It was reported at the time by My San Antonio that his teammates on the Spurs threw him a baby show ahead of the birth.
Three years later, the couple welcomed their second child together, a son whose name they have yet to reveal to the public. In 2020, Kawhi told People how his family was spending time during the COVID-19 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. 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."
Long before he was a star in the NBA, Kawhi could count on Kishele. In 2019, after he led the Toronto Raptors to the 2019 Finals and scored 22 points in Game 6 against the Golden State Warriors, she quickly congratulated him on his victory with a teary hug.
And during those finals, Kawhi was named the NBA Finals MVP. Kishele and other family members traveled to Barbados to celebrate his win.
