Many expected him to praise his former teammates competing in All-Star Weekend, but instead, he gave a very unsettling opinion of the championship-winning team.
The 2026 NBA All-Star Weekend is officially underway, with just the All-Star Games remaining Sunday night. The Toronto Raptors will have someone from the organization going back to Canada with the win, as Scottie Barnes (USA Stars), Brandon Ingram (USA Stripes), and head coach Darko Rajakovic (World) will all be facing each other.
This really has been the All-Star Weekend that Toronto has dominated in terms of representation. Outside of the All-Star Games, Barnes competed in the Shooting Stars Competition yesterday, and Collin Murray-Boyles went against Alijah Martin in the Rising Stars Games. It’s also the first All-Star Game with two Raptors since 2020, with Kyle Lowry and Pascal Siakam.
Toronto Raptors forward Scottie Barnes (4) | © Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images
Speaking of former Raptors, there are several also competing in Sunday’s games. Siakam is an All-Star again this year with the Indiana Pacers, marking his fourth selection in his career. Making his first appearance, though, is Norman Powell of the Miami Heat. Rounding out the members of the 2019 championship team is the Finals MVP, Kawhi Leonard, who achieved his seventh-career selection.
Leonard made headlines in his media session leading up to the big event for a quote he made about his former championship teammates joining him at All-Star Weekend. However, what he said may not be as uplifting as one may think.
“Everybody comes into their own,” said Leonard. “The talent wasn’t there, but the work ethic was, and that’s the reason why we won. Everybody thought they were better than they were, competed at a high level every night, and I’m happy for them.”
While this is quite an unusual “compliment” to his former teammates, it’s not surprising to hear it come from the emotionless Leonard. As possibly one of the most reserved and mysterious NBA superstars ever, the two-time Finals MVP has never been great at expressing his emotions; that’s evident by the simple fact of him making headlines any time he is seen smiling.
Was His Statement Valid?
Hindsight is 20/20, as the saying goes, and it would be very easy to look back at the championship roster and say how incredibly talented they were after seeing how their careers have played out. However, when you look at the roster with an unbiased view, lacking talent was certainly not an issue.
In the top 11 in minutes per game, every single player has either been an All-Star or quality starter for a championship-caliber team outside of Toronto, except for Jeremy Lin, and everyone knows about Linsanity. The lack of quality came from the lack of superstar power, which the modern NBA has been accustomed to from NBA Finals-winning teams.
Although Leonard was joined by Lowry in the All-Star game, he was the only All-NBA/All-Defense player on the team, and his impact was seen as heroic. But the notion that he had no help is simply incorrect. Lowry and Siakam were respectable second and third options offensively, and when you factor in stars in their roles like Serge Ibaka, Marc Gasol, Danny Green, and Jonas Valanciunas, the roster construction was one of the best in recent memory.
Former Toronto Raptors guards Kyle Lowry (7) and Fred VanVleet (23) | © Winslow Townson-Imagn Images
Just for extra emphasis, it’s rare that All-Stars in the NBA were considered bums before they rose to that level. Toronto held three players that had yet to make their first selection in 2019, including the two playing this season and Fred VanVleet. That marks six total All-Stars at some point in their careers, to match an All-Star appearing coach in Nick Nurse, and one of the deepest benches in modern NBA history.