The Toronto Raptors have officially confirmed via press release that Kawhi Leonard, the 7-time All-Star, 2-time Finals-MVP, and bringer of championships to two separate teams, IS a Toronto Raptor for the 2026-2027 season.
In the wake of a report from Shams Charania earlier today, the Toronto Raptors remained silent for a number of hours on the mater. That was a silence that left me with a sense of mild discomfort throughout the day. Yes, Shams is usually reliable about these things, and his word is basically taken as gospel amongst fans of the NBA. But, belief in the talking heads is what got the Raptors fanbase into the whirlpool of uncertainty and misery that has been the last few months as a result of the Aspiration Scandal.
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Me personally? I was willing to believe it, but until the proverbial fat lady (fat dinosaur?) was to sing, I wouldn’t feel quite settled.
And now, official confirmation has come in that Kawhi Anthony Leonard will be on the court for the Toronto Raptors this season. And with Kawhi comes all of the good and the bad. The scoring and the defence come with the injury concerns and the age. With the seemingly renewed sense of commitment to Toronto comes the baggage of Aspiration and the bevy of other associated misdoings that happened or are alleged to have occurred in Los Angeles.
But, I have a feeling that for the Raptors fans, the ones who saw Kyle and DeMar fail to reach the next step, the ones who saw Leonard’s shot go in against Philadelphia, and the ones who saw the team reach heights then-unknown in 2019, will disregard the uncomfortable and fall into the familiar embrace of Toronto’s Terminator.
Kawhi is now a Raptor. That was meant to be the easy part. There are 82 games still ahead of the young squad to even re-approach the playoffs. It’s a good thing they now have someone who knows the direction to the promised land.
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