The Raptors are bringing Kawhi Leonard back.
Seven years after Leonard left Toronto on the heels of a title run, the two-time NBA Finals MVP is headed back north in a blockbuster trade with the Clippers that sends Brandon Ingram, Gradey Dick and a pile of draft capital to Los Angeles.
The deal includes two first-round picks, two second-round picks and a pick swap. Toronto receives Leonard, while the Clippers get Ingram, Dick, the 2031 first-round pick, the 2033 first-round pick, the 2030 second-round pick, the 2033 second-round pick and a 2027 first-round pick swap.
Leonard’s return comes with the usual questions that have followed him in recent years. Injuries have been part of the story since he left Toronto, but he still showed plenty of star power last season.
He played 65 games, averaged a career-high 27.9 points per game and shot better than 50 percent from the field. Even with his 3-point percentage dipping below 40 percent for the first time since 2020-21, Leonard still looked like the kind of scorer who can change a season fast.
Toronto is also taking on the contract situation that comes with the move. Leonard is entering the final year of his extension with the Clippers and is set to make $50.3 million next season. The 35-year-old is reportedly open to an extension with the Raptors, and that possibility helped make the trade happen.
That matters for Toronto because the franchise has been here before. Eight years ago, the Raptors swung a blockbuster deal for Leonard without any commitment beyond that season, and it still worked out. This time, the familiarity cuts both ways: Leonard knows the organization, and the Raptors are betting that comfort can lead to something longer term.
Leonard’s career has already looped through some big chapters. Drafted 15th overall by the Spurs in 2011, he won a championship in 2014 with Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili, then picked up NBA Finals MVP honors.
After injuries and a falling out with San Antonio, he forced his way out in 2018 and landed in Toronto, where he delivered the franchise’s first championship. He then moved on to the Clippers with Paul George.
Los Angeles never quite got the ending it wanted. The Clippers reached their first Western Conference Finals in 2021, but Leonard was lost during that playoff run because of a partially torn ACL.
Even with the bumps, Leonard’s numbers still tell the story of a player who has remained elite when available. He has not finished a season averaging fewer than 20 points per game in any year in which he played at least 10 games since 2014-15, and his career line sits at 20.7 points, 6.4 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game across 798 games.
Now Toronto gets the familiar face back, and the gamble is clear: if Leonard stays on the floor, the Raptors may have pulled off another swing that changes everything.
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