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In a recent appearance on the Hello and Welcome podcast, former Toronto Raptors forward Serge Ibaka reflected on the franchise’s 2019 championship team and how many titles they could have captured had Kawhi Leonard decided to remain in Toronto instead of leaving in free agency.
“Bro, why are you asking this question? I think… I think at least two. I think about it every day. Ah, Kawhi… Kawhi… Kawhi… Two more. I think two more,” Ibaka said. “Yeah, at least two more. If he didn’t leave — two more. Two more. Two more.”
Ibaka, who spent nearly four seasons with the Raptors, also addressed whether he made an effort to recruit Leonard during the summer of 2019 after the team’s title run.
“Yeah, man. I don’t like to talk about it, man,” Ibaka said. “Yeah… Yeah. I, um… I didn’t actually try to recruit him because I didn’t believe it. I thought he was going to stay. Yeah, he won. I didn’t believe he was gonna leave, you know? I was like — I didn’t think he was going to leave, actually. We just won the championship. We had a great team. He could take as many off-games as he wanted — the team was still going to win without him. So he got a lot of pressure, you know? Whenever we needed him in a game, he’d be there. And if he had an off-night, he had guys to help him. So I didn’t really think like, ‘Ah, Kawhi is going to leave.' I was calm. I was relaxed. I was like, ‘We just won. Who does that?’”
Serge Ibaka reflects on Raptors’ 2019 team, says Kawhi Leonard could have won more titles
Leonard, who was named Finals MVP in Toronto’s victory over the Golden State Warriors, departed that offseason and signed a four-year deal with the Los Angeles Clippers. His decision altered the trajectory of both franchises.
Now preparing for his sixth season in Los Angeles, Leonard has delivered steady production but has yet to replicate the postseason success he enjoyed with the Raptors. The two-time Finals MVP averaged 21.5 points, 5.9 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.6 steals on 49.8% shooting from the field and 41.1% from three-point range across 37 games in the 2024-25 season. His most notable Clippers run came in 2021, when the team advanced to the Western Conference Finals for the first time in franchise history, though Leonard missed the series with a torn ACL.
The Raptors, meanwhile, struggled to sustain their championship form after Leonard’s exit. Toronto reached the second round of the 2020 playoffs in the Orlando bubble before falling to the Boston Celtics, then appeared again in 2022, losing to the Philadelphia 76ers in the first round. Over time, the roster that delivered the franchise’s lone title disbanded. Kyle Lowry reunited with former coach Nick Nurse in Philadelphia, Pascal Siakam was traded to the Indiana Pacers, OG Anunoby was traded to the New York Knicks, Fred VanVleet signed with the Houston Rockets, and Chris Boucher, the last holdover from the 2019 roster, recently signed with the Celtics.
Ibaka’s comments underscored the lingering sentiment among Raptors players and fans about what could have been. With Leonard at the center of a deep roster, Toronto may have been positioned for multiple championships. Instead, the franchise’s triumph stands as a singular moment in its history.
