Before Kawhi Leonard arrived to the Toronto Raptors in the summer of 2018, the deepest the franchise had been in the playoffs was Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals. That was in 2016, when the Raptors lost to LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers in six hard-fought games.
The 2017-18 Raptors won 59 games and clinched the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference. They were confident they were going to get past LeBron that time, only to get swept in the second round of the 2018 playoffs by James and the Cavs.
That was when Raptors president Masai Ujiri knew he had to make a drastic move. Despite knowing that he was going to get killed for it, Ujiri traded Toronto's best and most popular player in All-Star DeMar DeRozan.
And who was Ujiri trading DeRozan for? It was none other than Kawhi Leonard, who was coming off a season where he played in just nine games with the San Antonio Spurs due to a quad injury and requested a trade because he didn't trust the medical staff.
Needless to say, Raptors fans weren't too thrilled about the trade, especially since multiple reports stated that Leonard had zero interest in playing for Toronto and was hellbent on getting traded to Los Angeles so he could play for either the Lakers or Clippers.
Once Leonard passed his physical and had his first chat with head coach Nick Nurse, though, all those reports about Leonard not wanting to play for Toronto slowly went away. There was never going to be a scenario where Kawhi just straight up didn't show up or play for the Raptors. It's just that everyone — including Ujiri — knew it was going to be a one-year rental.
In the history of one-year rentals, if there is one, Leonard undoubtedly has the greatest one-year run with a team. After only playing in nine games with the Spurs in 2017-18, no one knew what to expect from Leonard in 2018-19. There were a few people who thought he was going to be elite like he was with the Spurs, but most experts didn't believe the two-time Defensive Player of the Year was going to be his old self.
Those naysayers were right in the sense that Leonard wasn't his old self anymore. HE WAS WAY BETTER!
Leonard was a monster for the Raptors during the 2018-19 regular season, thanks to load management, which always kept him fresh when he was playing. Kawhi averaged 26.6 points, 7.3 rebounds and 3.3 assists in 60 games, leading Toronto to 58 wins and the second-best record in the East.
Prior to Leonard getting traded to the Raptors, Toronto had a history of playing well in the regular season and choking in the playoffs. We say this because the 2019 postseason got off to a terrible start for Kyle Lowry, with the All-Star point guard recording zero points in Toronto's Game 1 loss to the Orlando Magic to open the 2019 postseason.
Once again, it looked like the Raptors were headed for an early exit in the playoffs.
However, with Leonard leading the way, the Raptors were never going to fold when adversity hit. Toronto won four games in a row to eliminate the Magic. Pascal Siakam was big in Games 3 and 4 when Leonard was reportedly dealing with an illness. Lowry, meanwhile, was superb after his Game 1 blunder.
The second round of the 2019 playoffs saw the Raptors take on the Philadelphia 76ers, who had talented players such as Joel Embiid, Jimmy Butler, Ben Simmons and Tobias Harris. The series started off well for Toronto, winning Game 1 by a final score of 108-95.
The Sixers, though, won Games 2 and 3 to take a 2-1 series lead. That's when Leonard turned into Superman, putting up 39 points and 14 rebounds in Game 4 to give the Raptors home-court advantage back. The two teams then split the next two games at home to set up an epic Game 7 up north.
It's safe to say just about every basketball fan in the world remembers where they were when Leonard hit that game-winner over Embiid right in front of the Raptors' bench. It's undoubtedly one of the biggest shots in NBA history.
Kawhi finished Game 7 with 41 points and 11 rebounds.
The 2019 Eastern Conference Finals was going to be a treat. It featured Leonard going up against Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks, who had the best record in the NBA and only lost one game in the playoffs coming into the series.
Toronto quickly fell down 0-2 to the Bucks. It appeared like Giannis and Milwaukee were going to cruise to the Finals since Toronto was tired from the Sixers series.
However, unlike in past seasons, the Raptors didn't fold. Led by Leonard, Siakam, Marc Gasol, Fred VanVleet and Lowry, the Canadian franchise won four games in a row to upset the Bucks.
Toronto was going to its first Finals in franchise history.
In the 2019 Finals, Toronto defeated the Golden State Warriors in six games. Leonard became a Raptors legend in just one season, averaging 30.5 points, 9.1 rebounds and 3.9 assists in the 2019 playoffs and winning his second Finals MVP.
Raptors fans will love Leonard forever. It's why Kawhi didn't get booed in his return to Toronto.
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