Who Is Kishele Shipley? Here are Facts About Kawhi Leonard’s Girlfriend

Kishele Shipley is the girlfriend of NBA superstar Kawhi Leonard. She is also the mother of his two children. L.A. Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard and his girlfriend Kishele Shipley met in San Diego State University, and have been together since 2014

Kawhi Leonard is one of the superstars of the NBA. He is unarguably one of the most dominant defenders in the league, a fact that is backed by his seven All-Defensive Team selections and two Defensive Player of the Year honors. Kawhi does most of his talking on the court and has gained a reputation for not always speaking in public. When he does, he only speaks about basketball-related issues. Every other thing remains very personal, most especially his family and relationship with Kishele Shipley.

The basketball player has been in a relationship with Shipley since 2014. While she has for so long been kept away from the prying eyes of fans and the public, given the dearth of information available to the media, Shipley couldn’t remain unknown to the world for so long. After all, a golden fish has no hiding place.

Biography and Profile Summary of Kishele Shipley

  • Full Name: Kishele Shipley
  • Birth Date: April 10, 1989
  • Age: 34 Years Old
  • Birth Place: San Diego, California, US
  • Nationality: American
  • Ethnicity: Multiracial
  • Education: San Diego State University
  • Father’s Name: Kenneth Shipley
  • Mother’s Name: Cathy Marie Shipley
  • Siblings: Two Sisters
  • Height: 5 feet 8 inches(173 cm)
  • Weight: 64 kgs(141 lbs)
  • Shoe Size: 8 (US)
  • Hair Color: Black
  • Eye Color: Dark Brown
  • Body Measurements: 38-28-36 inches
  • Marital Status: Unmarried
  • Boyfriend: Kawhi Leonard
  • Children: Two
  • Profession: Human Resource Professional

Kishele Shipley Is A Native of San Diego, California

Just like her famous basketball player partner, Kishele Shipley is a native of California. But while Kawhi Leonard was born and raised in the Los Angeles area, she was born further south in the Pacific coast city of San Diego on the 10th of April 1989, making her 34 years old. She is older than the father of her kids by a couple of years as he is 32 years old.

Kishele’s parents have been identified as Cathy Marie (née Coleman) and Kenneth Shipley. Her mother is a homemaker while her father is a businessman. They raised her alongside her two sisters; Kassandra and Kenisha, to whom she is very close.

Kishele and Kawhi Met At San Diego State University

Kishele Shipley is a graduate of San Diego State University where she studied Public Administration. It was during her time in the institution that she met and began dating the basketball player who accepted to go to the school after being named 2009 California Mr. Basketball.

The pair are believed to have dated for the two years Kawhi Leonard was at San Diego State before he quit college after his sophomore year to enter the NBA Draft in 2011. Kawhi had all it took to become a star in the league as he impressed everybody during his outstanding college career. He was subsequently drafted by the Indiana Pacers with the 15th overall pick but was immediately traded to the San Antonio Spurs. This meant that he had to switch California for Texas.

Details of how the couple managed their relationship during this time are unclear as Kishele remained in San Diego after graduating college in 2012. She stayed back in the city for a while to work as a human resource professional.

The Couple Welcomed Their First Child in 2016 and Another in 2019

After about half a decade together, Kishele Shipley’s relationship with Kawhi Leonard evolved from that of girlfriend to baby mama. This happened in July 2016 when she gave birth to their daughter named Kaliyah. Kawhi’s status and outlook on life certainly changed after this as he became a first-time father. The player has spoken about how happy he is to become a girl dad. Using very few words, as usual, he said having a child gives one a great feeling. A few years later, the duo welcomed their second child, a son whose name has not been made known to the public.

Kishele Shipley
Kishele Shipley and daughter

Kawhi Leonard and Kishele Shipley Have Reportedly Gotten Engaged

Kishele Shipley and Kawhi Leonard are very much into each other as they live together with their children. Before now, the status of their relationship wasn’t clear to the public. While many regarded her to be his partner, others preferred to refer to her as his baby mama. In recent times, however, Kishele has been described as Kawhi’s fiancee. It is widely believed that they are engaged and could soon make the walk down the aisle.

Regardless of what people make of their relationship, the opinions of others have not kept the couple from planning a great future together. This can be seen through Kawhi’s decision to return home to Los Angeles to play basketball.

After many years away, first at San Antonio for six years and then in Canada at Toronto for one year, the player chose to return to his hometown to play for the Los Angeles Clippers. While the deal to play for the Clippers was a very lucrative one, the athlete mentioned that one thing that motivated him in particular to return home was so that he could be close to his family. This move makes sense for both Kawhi and Kishele as her family resides a few hours from LA. With everybody close to each other, their kids can spend time with cousins, uncles, aunts, and grandparents as the family continues to grow.

Kishele Shipley
Kawhi and Kishele celebrating winning the 2019 NBA Championship

What Does Kishele Shipley Do For A Living?

For one to be a true superstar like Michael Jordan, LeBron James, or Stephen Curry, you would expect that they are active on social media with millions of followers. On these platforms, they would share bits and pieces of information with fans as this is how true superstardom in today’s game can be measured. But that is not Kawhi. You won’t find him on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram and probably won’t ever see him on the red carpet attending a non-basketball-related/contract-mandated event.

It could be surmised then that although he loves the game and plays it with all he’s got in him, it is not for the fame or wealth. Kishele appears to also live by these rules. It is either she got it from her boyfriend or she has always been like that. We say this because she also does not have a public social media account, making it hard to tell for a certain what she has been up to in recent times in regards to her professional life. It has, however, been speculated online that she has a growing interest in home decoration and design.

Chizitere Onukogu
Chizitere Onukogu
Chizitere is a graduate of United States International University, Kenya. He has been writing and editing articles particularly in the field of sports, TV and entertainment and for many years. His writings has been published on multiple websites, blogs and publications

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