Seven years after leading the Toronto Raptors to their first NBA championship before leaving in free agency, Kawhi Leonard is heading back to Toronto.
The Raptors have reacquired their 2019 Finals MVP from the Los Angeles Clippers in a blockbuster trade that sends Gradey Dick, Brandon Ingram, two unprotected first-round picks, a first-round pick swap and two second-round picks to Los Angeles.
Toronto is coming off one of its best seasons in recent years, winning 16 more games than it did in 2024-25. The Raptors also posted their best statistical season in six years, finishing with a plus-2.9 point differential per 100 possessions.
The addition of Leonard signals their ambition to take another step and challenge the Eastern Conference’s top teams.
For the Clippers, the trade marks another major step in their transition toward a younger roster. Despite owning the NBA’s fourth-best regular-season record during Leonard’s seven seasons in Los Angeles, the team failed to win a championship during that span.
A Great Defense Gets Even Better
Toronto ranked fifth in the NBA defensively last season, allowing 112.1 points per 100 possessions. Its aggressive scheme forced turnovers and did a solid job defending the three-point line.
Leonard should strengthen that unit even further.
While he is no longer the defender he was five or six years ago, the 34-year-old remains an effective two-way player and rarely commits fouls. Last season, he recorded 122 steals and 27 blocks while committing just 78 personal fouls.
A potential frontline of Leonard, Scottie Barnes and rookie Collin Murray-Boyles would give Toronto a smaller but highly switchable defensive group capable of matching up with elite offenses.
Toronto Finally Gets a Late-Game Closer
The Raptors ranked third in the league in transition scoring last season, averaging 28.6 points per game.
Their bigger problem came when possessions slowed down.
Toronto had the second-worst effective field-goal percentage in the league during the final six seconds of the shot clock, shooting just 43.3%.
Leonard could immediately address that weakness.
Over the past three seasons, he has posted a 53.0% effective field-goal percentage in the final six seconds of the shot clock, ranking ninth among 131 players with at least 250 late-clock attempts.
He has also been significantly more effective in isolation than Ingram. The Clippers scored 1.07 points per possession on Leonard’s isolations over that span, compared with just 0.99 for Toronto and New Orleans when Ingram isolated.
After ranking sixth-worst offensively over the past three seasons, Toronto will hope Leonard can provide the reliable late-game scoring it has been missing.
Leonard Remains an Elite Playoff Performer
Leonard’s 2019 championship run is only part of his impressive postseason résumé.
Across 146 playoff games, he has averaged 21.5 points per game while shooting 62.1% in true shooting percentage — one of the most efficient marks among players with at least 20 points per game over 10 or more playoff contests.
Since 2017, Leonard has averaged 28.6 points per game on 63.2% true shooting across 71 playoff games.
He is also one of only five players in NBA history to record at least three postseasons averaging 25 or more points per game while shooting at least 60% true shooting over a minimum of 10 games.
For a Raptors team that was eliminated by Cleveland in seven games in the first round last season, adding a proven postseason scorer could make a significant difference.
A Complete Reset for the Clippers
The Clippers’ roster looks dramatically different from the group they assembled just a year ago.
Bradley Beal, John Collins, Brook Lopez and Chris Paul were added to a core featuring Leonard, James Harden and Ivica Zubac. Now, Lopez is the only one of those seven players still on the roster.
Harden and Zubac were traded at the deadline, Paul’s return to Los Angeles was brief, Leonard is heading back to Toronto, while Beal and Collins are unlikely to return.
As of Tuesday night, players under contract or already committed to new deals accounted for just 42% of the Clippers’ minutes from the 2025-26 season — by far the lowest continuity rate in the NBA.
Even if restricted free agents Bennedict Mathurin and Jordan Miller return, that figure would rise only to 52%, still among the league’s lowest.
The Clippers have gone from trying to win with an experienced veteran core to building for the future, with Darius Garland and rookie guard Keaton Wagler emerging as the apparent foundations of the next era.
