The Raptors’ trade for Kawhi Leonard is finally official. After weeks of waiting, the Raptors will send Brandon Ingram, Gradey Dick, and several picks to the LA Clippers and welcome back the 2019 Finals MVP.
Bringing in Kawhi Leonard after last season’s success, significantly raises the Raptors’ ceiling by strengthening an already good defense and improving an offense that desperately needed a closer and go-to scorer. If Leonard fits in well and is healthy, the Raptors could easily put together their best offensive season since they won the title in 2018-19, as NBA.com’s John Schuhmann noted. They ranked fifth in offensive rating that season but never managed to finish higher than thirteenth after.
The Raptors have struggled offensively
After Kawhi Leonard left in free agency, the Raptors ranked thirteenth in offensive rating across the league for the 2019-20 season. They hovered around the middle of the NBA for three other seasons before plummeting to twenty-fourth in the 2023-24 season and twenty-sixth in 2024–25.
Even last season, when the Raptors finished fifth in the Eastern Conference standings and returned to the playoffs for the first time since 2022, they struggled offensively. The Raptors ranked fifteenth in offensive rating. They thrived when they could force turnovers and fly down the court in transition, but often couldn’t score late in a half-court setting.
The Pacers were the only team that shot a “lower effective field goal percentage in the last six seconds of the shot clock,” according to Schuhmann.
As a result, the Raptors relied heavily on their defense to win games—which worked against plenty of teams, but still left them a step behind more well-rounded teams.
Kawhi Leonard could single-handedly elevate the Raptors’ offense
Kawhi Leonard may be 35 years old and a walking injury concern, but he also averaged 27.9 points on 50.5% shooting from the field and 38.7% on 3-pointers last season. When he’s available to play, he can score. And that’s just what the Raptors need.
Leonard can take over as the Raptors’ go-to option late in the shot clock and whenever they feel the need to iso someone otherwise. Brandon Ingram filled a similar role for the Raptors last season, but Leonard has been much more effective. According to Schuhmann, he ranked ninth in effective field-goal percentage when taking a shot with just six seconds left on the 24-second clock over the last three seasons and averaged more points per isolation than Ingram.
His availability will always be a concern, but acquiring Leonard vastly improves the Raptors’ offensive potential.
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