Kawhi Leonard Reveals Important Reason for His Desire to Rejoin Toronto Raptors

Seven-time All-Star Kawhi Leonard is officially a Toronto Raptor for the second time in his career, and all eyes are now on him to help the franchise contend for its second championship. However, the pressure will be largely on franchise cornerstone Scottie Barnes to match Leonard’s two-way productivity to make a deep playoff run. In Leonard’s words, “If it’s Scottie’s team, it’s his team. I just want to do whatever it takes to help [the team] win.” 

Now that the two-time Finals MVP is back with the lone Canadian franchise, many fans wondered why he truly desired to return. Most speculated that the Raptors were one of the few franchises that would give him an expensive contract extension, while others believed it may be the familiarity of going back to a place he had already been.  At the end of the day, he was traded by the Los Angeles Clippers without a no-trade clause, so realistically he could’ve gone anywhere. However, most franchises were unwilling to take the risk of having him under contract for only one season, knowing that he would leave next summer. Teams like the Minnesota Timberwolves and Detroit Pistons were in the mix, but Leonard ultimately decided Toronto was the best long-term fit. 

Upon his arrival, Open Gym made a video recalling his reintroduction to the franchise and interviewed him during the shoot. There, the two-time DPOY discussed one reason that may have pushed him over the edge to choose the Raptors over any other team.

“I’m not really championship chasing, trying to find the best team I could win [with]”, said Leonard. “I didn’t want to put on a thousand jerseys. The city took a liking to my family; I took a liking to the city; [I] really enjoyed it. My son was born here, and he’s been asking me forever when he’s gonna come back, so now he’s back, and he’s able to see it rather than me tell him the great stories that happened.” 

While it’s easy to speculate the true intentions of professional athletes, it’s also easy to forget that they are regular people with families as well. This wholesome desire to show his son the city where he was born should be a wake-up call for fans that sometimes it’s not all about what is seen on the court. Now at seven years old, Leonard’s son has a chance to not only embrace his birth city, but experience what it’s like to celebrate his dad winning a championship. 

Joining a young squad full of potential, Leonard will be expected to be the closer offensively. Head coach Darko Rajakovic has instilled a beautiful defensive scheme that led the Raptors to have one of the best units on that end in the NBA last season, but the half-court and fourth-quarter offense struggled mightily. Coming off his career-high in points per game for a season (27.9), the 15-year veteran will need to do the heavy lifting in order to push the Raptors to a deep playoff run.