Kawhi Leonard's run with the Toronto Raptors is simultaneously one of the greatest single-season runs by an athlete ever and one of the greatest what-if scenarios ever.
Leonard led the Raptors to the championship in his lone season there before leaving for his hometown of Los Angeles. Had he stayed, Toronto could have competed for more titles. Their depth and ascending young talent would have made them a greater powerhouse in the Eastern Conference. Leonard's decision to leave wasn’t shocking but it was pretty unprecedented. Toronto remained good for a while but never got back to the Finals.
In a recent appearance on the Draymond Green show, former Raptors head coach Nick Nurse recalled his first meeting with Leonard after he was traded by the San Antonio Spurs and revealed why it wasn’t a total shock that Leonard dipped after his lone season with Toronto.
Kawhi Leonard warned Nick Nurse of possibly leaving Raptors after first season
“He got traded to Toronto, I'm meeting with him and it was super cool,” Nurse recalled. “We were going through some stuff on the board and it was a great conversation. And he said to me, ‘Listen, I want to play to win. I'm gonna play to win it all. I'm gonna do it for one year. After that, I'm not sure what’s going to happen. But for one year, I'm gonna play 100 percent. I'm gonna play to win the title.’
“So, I wasn’t totally shocked,” the former Raptors coach continued, “but I thought after we've done it all…I was sure hoping he was going to stay because that was a really, really good team. It really was.”
The Raptors, obviously, were not Leonard's destination of choice. He wanted to go back to LA after his relationship with the Spurs was broken beyond repair. Still, Toronto was a favorable situation that allowed him to capture his second Finals MVP award. Winning it all with the lone NBA team north of the border created a huge impact on the sport and the league.
Leonard kept his word to Nurse about giving it his all, orchestrating a spectacular playoff run. In the playoffs, he averaged 30.5 points, 9.1 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 1.7 steals per game with a 61.9 true shooting percentage and eight games with at least 35 points. No other player in franchise history has more than five.
That amazing production left Raptors fans thankful for The Klaw rather than scorned that he left. They were surely feeling a little snubbed but ultimately were just happy that they had finally won it all.
Leonard, who left the Raptors for the Los Angeles Clippers and has remained there since, and Nurse, who just finished his first season coaching the Philadelphia 76ers after being fired by Toronto, will always have that championship. Both are still revered in The North as they continue their respective careers and the Raptors try to rebuild.