Kawhi Leonard will be battling the Toronto Raptors on Monday night for the first time since bolting the team for the Los Angeles Clippers in free agency over the summer. While Raptors fans may be looking forward to it, it will surely just be another night at the office for Leonard.
Leonard doesn't have an extended history with Toronto, but he certainly has a significant one, as he led the Raptors to their first NBA championship in his lone season with the club last year.
While some felt that winning a title would increase Leonard's chance of re-signing, it seems pretty clear that Leonard never had any intention of staying with the Raptors and was dead set on heading to Hollywood.
That was exactly what most everyone thought he would do when Toronto initially traded for him during the summer of 2018, and sure enough, that is the script Leonard followed.
Now, Leonard is arguably the most dominant player in the NBA. Regardless of how you feel about his whole load management situation, he is a very easy guy to like. Well, unless you're a San Antonio Spurs fan.
So, what should we expect from Kawhi in his first game against the Raptors?
Probably the same as usual.
Article Continues BelowIf Leonard didn't make a big deal out of his return to San Antonio last season, he certainly won't make too much of his first meeting with the Raptors, especially considering this game isn't even in Toronto.
Leonard is averaging 29.0 points, 8.1 rebounds and 5.4 assists per game this season, as the 28-year-old continues to get better year in and year out. He has been a dominant closer and could even be in line for his first regular-season MVP award (he already has two Finals MVPs, and with two different teams, to boot).
Based on Leonard's modus operandi, which is a cool, calm, collected demeanor that is the same regardless of who or where Leonard is playing, we can almost certainly expect a typical monster game out of him versus his former team.
Remember: Paul George isn't back yet, so Leonard still has to assume the role of the clear-cut No. 1 option for the Clippers. Even if he will still be the top guy once George returns, his workload surely won't be this heavy, so expect the Clippers' offense to run almost solely through Leonard with cameos by guys like Lou Williams and Montrezl Harrell (who isn't really a go-to scorer anyway) throughout the night.
Think about it: Leonard has played in three NBA Finals before. Two of those appearances came against LeBron James. He has been to the playoffs every year of his career. He has won on the biggest stage and has never blinked an eye doing so.
A game like this on Monday evening means nothing to Leonard other than just being able to chat it up with some of his old teammates throughout the night. This is more for the fans than anything else.
For Leonard? It's just another game where he will get to do what he does best: dominate.