Scottie Barnes isn’t shying away from the spotlight that comes with teaming up with Kawhi Leonard.
As Toronto gets its preseason work started and looks ahead to the 2026-27 NBA season, Barnes made it clear he’s eager to see what the pairing can look like. The Raptors forward, entering his sixth season with the team after debuting in 2021, has already grown into one of the league’s top players and helped push Toronto back to the playoffs last season.
Now the Raptors have added another major piece. Leonard arrived from the Los Angeles Clippers this summer in a deal that sent Brandon Ingram, Gradey Dick and picks to Los Angeles, giving Barnes a veteran star beside him in the frontcourt.
Barnes addressed the media on Monday, per reporter Omer Osman, and didn’t sound like someone intimidated by the new dynamic. He said he trusts the fit and believes Toronto has the kind of roster that can make a real push in the Eastern Conference.
“Man, I got us, man. Me and Kawhi, I got us, rather than those other guys.
I’m really focused over here. Don’t really care about that.
It’s going to be really good competition for sure. I feel like that’s what I’m really excited about.
The Eastern Conference is stacked this year. There’s no running away from that.
Scottie Barnes on ranking the duo of him and Kawhi Leonard across the Eastern Conference:
— Omer Osman (@OmerOsman200) October 5, 2026
“Man, I got us, man. Me and Kawhi, I got us, rather than those other guys. I’m really focused over here. Don’t really care about that.”
“It’s going to be really good competition for sure.… pic.twitter.com/PVgSsnLROd
You just got to bring it every single night,” Barnes said.
For Raptors fans, Leonard’s presence carries obvious weight. He was the centerpiece of Toronto’s 2019 championship run, and the hope now is that this version of the team can chase something similar if the health breaks right.
Toronto went 46-36 last season, finished fifth in the East and pushed the Cleveland Cavaliers to seven games in the first round before bowing out.
The preseason keeps rolling with Toronto set to face the Clippers on Oct. 10 at 6:30 p.m. ET.
After three more exhibition games, the Raptors open the regular season at home against the Chicago Bulls on Oct. 21 at 7:30 p.m. ET.
In Other News...
Clippers Just Lost More Control In The Kawhi Leonard Saga
Kawhi Leonards path back to Toronto is becoming a bigger reminder of just how complicated his departure from the Clippers really was. The Raptors officially completed the trade only after the league took time to sort through the Clippers salary-cap situation, and the deal has already reopened interest in one of the more unusual star exits in recent NBA memory.
Leonard, for his part, has started talking more about the basketball side of the move, saying his focus is on learning the team and settling back into a veteran role. For Toronto, it is a familiar and welcome storyline, but it also leaves plenty of the larger Clippers questions hanging in the background, especially with the leagues investigation still shaping how this chapter gets remembered. [Read more 🡒]
Kawhis Raptors Return Creates One Big Question For Darkos Offense
Kawhi Leonards return gives Toronto a very different kind of offensive anchor, and Darko Rajakovic is already sorting through how that changes the Raptors flow. The head coach has pointed to Leonards offensive gravity as the obvious draw, the kind of presence that can bend defenses and open cleaner looks for everyone else, while still allowing the group to keep its pace and transition identity when he is not on the floor.
Rajakovic also made clear this is not an instant plug-and-play situation, even with Leonard back in familiar territory. He is still working his way into the roster and into the environment around him, and the early task for Toronto is figuring out how to blend a superstars shot-making with the rhythm the team has been building, all while keeping enough flexibility in the rotation to let the fit settle in naturally. [Read more 🡒]
Collin Murray-Boyles Could Decide How Far The Raptors Really Go
Collin Murray-Boyles has already given the Raptors a useful glimpse of why they were intrigued by him in the first place. As a rookie, he showed the kind of defensive versatility Toronto has long valued, while also flashing enough offensive promise to suggest there is more to come. The bigger question now is how quickly that two-way profile can grow into something the Raptors can count on when the games start to matter most.
This summer, the early signs around his development have been encouraging, and Darko Rajakovic has pointed to both Murray-Boyles work ethic and the importance of letting his game expand at a measured pace. Toronto does not need him to be finished today, but it does need progress in the right places if he is going to become the sort of contributor who changes the ceiling of the roster. For a team trying to climb in the East, his next step may end up telling the story of how far this group can really go. [Read more 🡒]