TORONTO: Seven years can feel like a lifetime in the National Basketball Association.
Since Kawhi Leonard led the Toronto Raptors to their first NBA championship in 2019, almost everything has changed. Kyle Lowry, Pascal Siakam, Marc Gasol, Serge Ibaka, Danny Green and Fred VanVleet have all moved on, while Scottie Barnes has emerged as the face of a new generation and a two-time All-Star. The Eastern Conference has also reached a peak of competitiveness.
The Raptors, however, have quietly worked their way back into contention. Pushing the Cleveland Cavaliers to seven games in the opening round of this season’s playoffs convinced the front office it was closer to competing for a championship than beginning another rebuild.
And Leonard’s return after seven years with the Los Angeles Clippers is therefore about more than nostalgia.
Toronto reportedly paid a steep price to bring him back, sending Brandon Ingram, Gradey Dick, two first-round picks, a first-round pick swap and two second-round picks to Clippers. It is one of the franchise’s boldest moves since acquiring Leonard and reflects the front office’s belief that the championship window is open now.
The question is whether this team can follow the path of the 2019 champions.
The biggest difference between the two Raptors teams is age. Toronto’s 2019 championship roster was built around veterans entering or already in their prime. Lowry provided leadership, Gasol and Ibaka anchored the frontcourt, while Green and VanVleet added championship-caliber depth alongside Leonard and the emerging Siakam. It was a team assembled to win immediately, blending veterans, championship experience and players entering their prime.
The 2026 Raptors represent a different approach. Barnes, 24, leads a much younger core as a two-time All-Star. He is joined by 26-year-old RJ Barrett, 27-year-old Immanuel Quickley and 30-year-old Jakob Poeltl, a group entering or approaching their prime rather than in the latter stages of their careers.
Rather than joining an established contender as he did in 2018, Leonard returns to a younger team that have already shown they can compete but are still learning how to win at the highest level.
Barnes faces perhaps the biggest adjustment of his NBA career.
Since Leonard departed following the 2019 championship, Barnes has developed into the face of the franchise and Toronto’s first option. Leonard’s return changes that equation.
Instead of carrying the Raptors’ title hopes on his own, Barnes is expected to embrace a role similar to the one Siakam played during the championship run: an elite two-way forward capable of complementing a superstar.
For a player who has spent the past few seasons growing into Toronto’s leader, learning to thrive alongside one of the NBA’s greatest post-season performers could elevate both his game and Toronto’s championship ambitions.
Leonard also returns to a very different scene. When Toronto won the championship in 2019, LeBron James had already left the Eastern Conference, creating an opportunity for a new contender to emerge. Today there is no such opening.
The New York Knicks, Boston Celtics, Cleveland Cavaliers, Philadelphia 76ers, Indiana Pacers, Miami Heat and Detroit Pistons all believe they can challenge for the Eastern Conference crown.
The NBA has also been reshaped by one of the busiest offseasons in recent memory, with Giannis Antetokounmpo joining the Miami Heat, Jaylen Brown moving to the Philadelphia 76ers, Ja Morant being traded to the Portland Trail Blazers and LaMelo Ball landing with the Minnesota Timberwolves. The picture may not be complete, with LeBron James entering free agency and his next destination still unknown.
Against that backdrop, Toronto believe Leonard can once again make the difference.
The Raptors’ decision to reunite with Leonard says as much about the current roster as it does about the player himself.
After pushing Cleveland to seven games in this season’s opening-round playoff series, Toronto concluded they did not need another rebuild; they needed a player capable of deciding the biggest playoff games.
Seven years ago, Leonard proved he was exactly that.
Now, with a new generation around him and a far tougher path to the NBA Finals, the Raptors are betting he still is.
