Toronto Raptors: Top 5 best individual seasons of all-time
By Jason Mills
Toronto Raptors best individual season No. 1: Kawhi Leonard 2018-19
The Raptors shocked their fan base in the summer of 2018 when it was announced that the team had traded DeRozan and Poeltl for Danny Green and the mercurial Kawhi Leonard, formerly of the San Antonio Spurs.
The Raptors were taking an enormous risk. First, Leonard was on an expiring contract and would cost the team the long term services of DeRozan, it was a trade that upset Lowry, and Leonard’s health was in question concerning a quadriceps issue.
In the end, Leonard, with “load management,” was able to survive the 2018-19 season while putting up impressive numbers. Leonard averaged 26.6 points, 3.3 assists, and 7.3 rebounds per game. He shot 49.6 percent from the field and 37.1 percent on three-point shots. If not for load management, which cost Leonard 22 games he could’ve been in the MVP conversation.
However, his 24 playoff appearances produced near-legendary results, and while he helped the Raptors win 58 regular-season games, his playoff effort was a masterpiece.
Not only did he win game seven in the second-round series vs. the Philadelphia 76ers, not only did he help play lockdown defense on Giannis Antetokounmpo after the Raptors fell behind 0-2 in games to the Milwaukee Bucks, but Leonard totaled 732 points in 24 playoff games.
He averaged 30.5 points per playoff game and scored 30 or more points in 14 of those 24 playoff games. Not only did the Toronto Raptors and Kawhi Leonard get crowned NBA Champions in 2019, but Leonard was also named the Finals MVP.
While he did walk away from Toronto in the 2019 free agency period, after one season for his home town Los Angeles Clippers, what a year 2019 was for Leonard and the Raptors.