Kawhi Leonard’s ESPN ranking may already be looking a little light for the Raptors.
ESPN slotted Leonard at No. 15 in its NBA player rankings, but Brian Windhorst made the case on NBA Today that the number undersells what Leonard still brings when he’s on the floor.
“I think this is too low,” Brian Windhorst said on NBA Today. “The only reason he’s 15 is because we’re not sure how many games he’s going to play, and we’re never going to be sure.
And I know that his name out here in LA right now is not in a good place, but his game was awesome last year. It was awesome the year before.
He’s playing at a very high level. He does it for the Raptors this year, he’s going to be in the top ten.”
If Leonard can deliver that kind of season in Toronto, he could climb fast. To get into the top ten, he’d need to pass Jaylen Brown, Kevin Durant, Stephen Curry, and Tyrese Maxey, with ESPN’s top ten still unreleased. The Raptors and 76ers are set to meet four times in the regular season, giving Leonard a clear stage to go head-to-head with Brown and Maxey in games that matter, especially with Philadelphia viewed as one of the Eastern Conference’s biggest threats after adding Brown and James in the offseason.
Toronto also got a strong result for Scottie Barnes in the rankings. Barnes checked in at No. 17, a big rise from No. 30 a year ago, and he finished just ahead of LeBron James. That pairing of Barnes and Leonard gives the Raptors two top-20 players, a major boost for a team trying to push into contender territory.
Barnes is heading into his prime, and Leonard’s presence should help unlock more offense for him. The bigger question is whether Leonard can stay on the court long enough to make the ranking look conservative.
The 2025-26 season was only the second time since he left Toronto in 2019 that Leonard played more than 57 games. He still put up huge numbers with the Clippers: a career-high 27.9 points per game, plus 6.4 rebounds, 3.6 assists, and 1.9 steals. He was efficient, too, shooting 50.5% from the field, 38.7% from three, and 89.2% from the line.
That’s the version of Leonard Toronto is banking on, even if it comes in something closer to 65 regular-season games than a full workload. If he can sustain that level through the season and into the playoffs, the Raptors have a real chance to rise. If not, they’ll have to find another way to keep building on last season’s momentum.
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Raptors Just Made A Costly Bet On Their Entire Core
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Leonards extension lands in the same conversation as other major star deals because it says as much about team-building philosophy as it does about talent. For the Raptors, the question now is how much flexibility remains once Leonard, Immanuel Quickley and Jakob Poeltl are all part of the financial picture, and whether that core can deliver enough on the court to justify the gamble. [Read more 🡒]