Toronto Raptors: Three ways Pascal Siakam has improved this season

On the heels of a life-changing sophomore season with the Toronto Raptors, Pascal Siakam continues to rise up the ranks of the NBA’s elite. What are some key improvements he’s made to his game following last season’s success?

In the wake of Kawhi Leonard‘s departure, some in the basketball world figured the Toronto Raptors would fall from the top of the Eastern Conference. They thought the defending champs would be fighting on the fringe of the playoffs, and that this team was a seven-seed in the waiting. However, the evolution of Pascal Siakam has changed those expectations, at least to this point in the season. Sure, repeating will take some kind of effort from Canada’s team, but winning another Larry O.B. is not, as they say, impossible.

The emergence of Siakam is the main reason Toronto’s place among the Eastern Conference’s elite is safe. Through seven games this season, the third-year pro is averaging 25.6 points, 9.1 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game while shooting 54-percent from 2-point range and 39-percent from 3-point range. He’s also been automatic from the free-throw line, converting on 33 of his first 35 attempts.

Fresh off signing a $130 million dollar extension that will keep No. 43 in Toronto through the 2023-24 season, Siakam’s game has shown little-to-no signs of plateauing so far this year. Through the first seven games of 2019-2020, it seems absolutely foolish to put a finite ceiling on the 25-year-old Cameroonian’s game. It’s a bit of a cliché, but the sky is the limit for Pascal Siakam.

There will be nights, both this year and in the ones to come, where Siakam’s game will give fans and coaches headaches. He has committed a healthy dose of fouls already this season, partially because head coach Nick Nurse has not been shy to challenge his best player, routinely giving Siakam the toughest defensive assignment, on top of asking him to be Toronto’s main weapon on offence. With great power comes great responsibility.

If Toronto is to win a title without Kawhi Leonard, Pascal Siakam, as good as he was a season ago, needs to be even better this year. Can he be the same tier player as Leonard? It’s a tough goal, but the early signs suggest he has a chance to evolve into a similar type of superstar. Check out Siakam’s 2019-20 stats (small sample disclaimer) versus Leonard’s 2016-17 numbers, both coming when each player was 25-years-old.

The numbers tell will tell you, it’s not so crazy, right? It never hurts to dream big, which is something nobody needs to tell Pascal Siakam, who’s atop the NBA after picking up the sport at 16 years old. Just nine years into his basketball experience, what improvements are we currently seeing from Toronto’s 130-million-dollar man?