The Raptors took a big step forward last season, but the numbers against the league’s best kept nagging at the edges of that success.
Toronto finished the 2024-25 campaign 46-36, good for the fifth seed in the Eastern Conference and its first playoff berth since the 2021-22 season. That was a sharp climb from an 11th-place finish and a 30-52 record the year before. For a while, the team looked like it might be more than just a feel-good turnaround, especially during a blistering November stretch that produced a 12-3 record and got the league’s attention.
Still, the shine faded some as the season rolled on. The Raptors stayed competitive, but they never quite matched the level they hit in that hot month.
The bigger concern came against elite competition. Toronto went 1-12 against the top four teams in the Eastern Conference and 1-11 against the top six teams in the West. That kind of record does not just raise eyebrows; it puts a spotlight on how far the Raptors still had to go before they could be taken seriously as a true threat at the top of the league.
There were reasons to soften the judgment a bit. The Raptors spent stretches without Collin Murray-Boyles and, to a lesser degree but still significantly, without Jakob Poeltl, their only true big man over 7 feet.
Even so, the broader issue was easy to see on the floor. Toronto had trouble finishing games, its crunch-time defense could break down, fatigue showed up late, and the team never looked fully settled when the pressure climbed.
Brandon Ingram had some clutch moments, but he was not the obvious answer when the game was on the line. RJ Barrett, Immanuel Quickley, and even Scottie Barnes also had moments where the moment seemed to get a little too big.
That is where Kawhi Leonard comes in, and why his presence changes the conversation so much.
Leonard gives Toronto exactly what it has been missing in those tight games: a proven closer, a defender who can change possessions, and a player with a long track record of delivering when the level of competition rises. He already filled that role for the Raptors in 2018-19, and the expectation is that he can do it again as the team looks ahead to 2026-27 and beyond.
Toronto is banking on Leonard to help push it past the kind of roadblocks that showed up against top-tier opponents last season. His value is not limited to the regular season, either. He has built his reputation in the playoffs, where he has consistently been viewed as a postseason riser.
Of course, there is the usual Kawhi Leonard caveat. Availability has always been part of the discussion with him because of injury concerns and load management. Even so, the belief is that simply having him for 40, 45, or 50-ish games would give the Raptors a much higher ceiling than they had before.
That is the bet Toronto is making. Leonard may not solve everything, and there is always a risk in leaning too hard on him, but the logic is clear: if the Raptors are going to close the gap with the league’s best, they need a player who has already done it at the highest level.
Last season showed a team climbing back into relevance. The next step asks for something harder. The margin for error is about to shrink, and with Kawhi Leonard in the mix, Toronto will be expected to meet that challenge.
In Other News...
RJ Barrett Could Decide The Raptors Next Big Roster Move
RJ Barrett has become one of the more interesting names to watch around the Raptors as the trade deadline approaches, not because Toronto is saying anything publicly, but because his place on the roster could shape the front offices next move. The idea gaining traction is simple enough: if the Raptors decide to pivot, Barrett is the kind of player who could headline a bigger deal, and the search would then turn toward a wing who better fits the direction they want to take.
Trey Murphy III has emerged as the kind of target that makes sense in that conversation, with his size, shooting, and versatility giving Toronto a clear type to chase. Any framework discussed around him would require Barrett, plus additional picks and other assets, which is why the conversation feels more like roster calculus than a finished deal. For the Raptors, the real question is whether they see Barrett as part of the next build or the key that unlocks it. [Read more 🡒]
Raptors Enter Camp With One Huge Kawhi Question Looming
Kawhi Leonards arrival gives Toronto the kind of ceiling few teams can match, and it also puts the Raptors into the kind of camp conversation contenders usually prefer to avoid. The trade from the Clippers changes the look of the roster immediately, but it does not change the fact that Scottie Barnes is still the player this group is built around, with the Raptors now trying to fit a former Finals MVP into a hierarchy that already had a clear centerpiece.
There is also the smaller, but important, question of how second-year forward Collin Murray-Boyles fits into the picture as the rotation starts to sort itself out. Toronto is expected to be aiming at a championship window in 2026-27, but the front office may not be done shaping the roster, and any further upgrade could end up waiting until much closer to the trade deadline. [Read more 🡒]
Kawhis Return Brings Back The Raptors Biggest Playoff Fear
Kawhi Leonards return has given Toronto a familiar kind of buzz, the sort that comes with a star who already knows the market, the franchise and the weight of expectations here. The Raptors didnt bring him back just for nostalgia, either. Leonard has signed a contract extension, and the appeal is obvious: a former Finals centerpiece who can still change the feel of a season when he is on the floor.
The concern, as always, is whether the good feelings can last long enough to matter in the spring. Around the league, some analysts are already questioning Leonards postseason durability, which is exactly the kind of conversation Raptors fans have heard before. Toronto is chasing a real shot at becoming a championship contender again, and Leonards presence makes that dream look less far-fetched. The problem is that the same question shadowing this reunion has yet to go away. [Read more 🡒]