Now that Kawhi Leonard is officially a Toronto Raptor, it’s time to safely look ahead to the 2026-27 season.
While the seven-time All-Star is entering his 15th season at 35-years-old, there’s reason to believe that Leonard could produce his greatest year as a professional. Here are three predictions that suggest the best is yet to come for the superstar.
Leonard plays 60+ games for a second straight year
These days, it’s tough for a basketball fan to scroll through media without their algorithm pushing Leonard. Notoriously known for being the NBA’s
resident hermit, Leonard is suddenly the most visible and talkative he has ever been. It’s easy to guess that part of the reason for this could be PR-driven. It’s unlikely that Leonard woke up one day and decided to be a social butterfly. There’s seemingly an intentional effort to both do and be more from a brand perspective.
It’s not the boldest of predictions to assume that mindset carries over to the hardwood.
Leonard hasn’t played in 60+ games in back-to-back seasons since 2015-17. Those were his first two All-Star seasons, declaring his official arrival as a dominant presence in the league. Last season, Leonard logged 65 games, the most since he played 68 (2023-24) and the third most of his career since 2016-17.
With the intention of repairing his image across the league and with audiences, expect Leonard to crack the 60-game mark again.
Leonard averages two steals a game
As brilliant as Leonard is defensively, he has finished a season with at least two steals a game only twice in his storied career. The last time he accomplished this feat was in 2018-19. While defence is more nuanced than raw steal numbers, the stat is often an indicator of how much ball-handlers respect a particular defender.
In his final season with the Los Angeles Clippers, Leonard finished just shy of the two-steal mark with 1.9 per game. At his advanced age, Leonard doesn’t typically prefer to guard the opposing player with the biggest threat level, at least for a majority of the game. However, this was also often the case during his short tenure with the Raptors. It wasn’t until Toronto was backed into a corner against the Milwaukee Bucks, that Leonard decided to take on more on-ball reps, and even then, Nick Nurse schemed up the “Giannis-wall”.
In his second stint with the Raptors, expect Leonard to take a bit more of the on-ball responsibility as teams frantically try to switch off Scottie Barnes and Collin Murray-Boyles. But where Leonard will see the biggest increase in steals is as an off-ball hawk. Head Coach Darko Rajakovic is the perfect motivator to passionately empower The Klaw to shut down passing lanes like he used to in his 20s. Toronto finished fourth in deflections last season with 20.4 per game.
Leonard averages 25+ points and 5+ assists
This would be uncharted territory for Leonard, who has never averaged at least 25 points and 5 assists in a single season. He has come close twice.
- 2019-20: 27.1 points, 4.9 assists
- 2020-21: 24.8 points, 5.2 assists
Both campaigns occurred just before he missed the entirety of the 2021-22 season due to an ACL injury. The Raptors finished third in assists last year with 29.5 per game, despite making several attempts to accommodate Brandon Ingram’s style of play. While Leonard may not flirt with being a top five scorer, he should barely get past the 25-point mark while seeing a bump in his assist numbers.
