Toronto Raptors: Which players will lead each statistical category?

While they don’t tell the whole story, stats are an important feature in basketball. Which Toronto Raptors player will lead each statistical category this season?

Stats are quantifiable. If used in the right setting they are easy to understand, helpful in evaluating a player, and most of all – fun. Watching a player put up 50 points or swatting away four blocks is therapeutic. We know it’s good because the numbers tell us it’s good, and because we just know. Other times, stats can be misleading or empty, not providing much use to analyze a player’s worth. For the Toronto Raptors, like every team, stats mean at least something.

This past season saw the Toronto Raptors win their first-ever NBA title on the back of a statistically insupposable postseason from Kawhi Leonard, where he lead the Toronto Raptors in several categories, mainly points, rebounds, and steals. Likewise in the regular season, Leonard led the Raptors as their leading scorer.

Now, the mantle of the Raptors leading scorer is up for grabs among other things and this upcoming season has the potential to be as fun as ever. Sure, it might not bring the silverware that last seasons run produced, but the Raptors will spend the next 82 games as the defending NBA Champions – something that seemed implausible a few seasons ago.

The playing field is spread out evenly for the Raptors. It’s likely that Pascal Siakam will become the Raptors leading scoring option, but Kyle Lowry, Marc Gasol, and Fred VanVleet will also take up a large chunk of the scoring. Gasol has shown a different side of his game in the FIBA World Cup and may open some avenues for Nick Nurse this season, while VanVleet will look to cement his place as one of the premier bench talents in the NBA.

There are many questions that need answering this season. Just for fun, though, who will lead the Toronto Raptors in every statistical category this upcoming season.