Toronto Raptors’ five biggest questions going into the 2018-19 season

1. Can Kawhi return to his NBA Finals MVP form?

The overwhelming key to the Raptors’ success this year is Leonard.

After an injury-riddled season forced the forward to miss most of last year. A disagreement on how to handle that injury also eventually led to Leonard’s departure.

Before the mess that was the 2017-18 season, Leonard averaged 25.5 points and 1.8 steals per game. The steals were only part of the repertoire for Leonard who has registered a 99 career defensive rating, a mark that would be good for top-25 in league history if he qualified.

A premier and healthy Leonard is a top-three caliber player in the NBA and an MVP candidate. He is one of the best two-way players the league has seen in recent years.

Leonard has the ability to be the Raptors’ best player on both ends of the court.

The risk lies in the right thigh of the 3-and-D wing. As a soft tissue injury, the chance for re-injury is very high. The Raptors will be certain to make sure he is receiving the proper amount of rest and rehabilitation.

The Spurs only got nine games in Leonard’s final season with the franchise, sinking their championship chances. If he plays a similar amount of games with Toronto, it will sink their chances as well.

The team put their trust in the upgrade provided from Leonard over their ex-franchise cornerstone in DeRozan. If he fails to perform and chooses to depart in next years’ free agency period, the franchise will set itself back several years.