Scheduled
Miami Heat at Charlotte Hornets
2026-27 · Regular season
Interactive: Kawhi Leonard back in Toronto — the shot, the title, seven years away and a 48-point homecoming, step by step
Scroll through Kawhi Leonard’s road back to Toronto: the 2018 trade, the four-bounce Game 7 shot, the 2019 title, seven seasons with the Clippers, the league penalties that held up the deal and his 23-point return in a 135-92 win over Chicago.
In this article
Kawhi Leonard with the Raptors in 2019. Photo by Chensiyuan, CC-BY-SA-4.0, resized.WhyNBA Interactive
Kawhi Leonard back in Toronto: the shot, the title, seven years away and a 48-point homecoming
He spent one season in Toronto and won the franchise its only championship. He left for Los Angeles nine days into free agency in 2019. Seven years, one ACL tear and a league investigation later, he is a Raptor again. Scroll through the whole road, in numbers.
Chapter 1
July 2018: the trade nobody saw coming
On July 18, 2018, Toronto sent DeMar DeRozan, Jakob Pöltl and a protected 2019 first-round pick to San Antonio for Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green.
Leonard had played nine games the season before because of a quadriceps injury, and he had one year left on his contract. The Raptors traded their most popular player for a season they could not be sure of.
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0points in his Raptors debut
The debut came on October 17, 2018: 24 points and 12 rebounds in a 116-104 win over Cleveland. Toronto managed his workload all season. He played 60 of 82 games, and the Raptors still won 58.
Kawhi Leonard during the 2019 NBA Finals. Photo by Chensiyuan, CC-BY-SA-4.0, resized.Chapter 2
Four bounces
He opened the second round against Philadelphia with 45 points. Game 7 was tied at 90 with 4.2 seconds left. Leonard caught the inbound pass, drifted to the right corner and shot over Joel Embiid from the baseline.
The ball hit the rim four times before it fell. Toronto won 92-90. It was the first Game 7 buzzer-beater in NBA history. He finished with 41 points on 16-of-39 shooting.
“It was great. That’s something I’ve never experienced before, Game 7, game-winning shot.”— Kawhi Leonard, after Game 7 against Philadelphia
- 45 points in Game 1 against Philadelphia
- Game 7 buzzer-beater, Raptors 92, 76ers 90; 41 points
- 36 points in a double-overtime 118-112 win in Game 3 against Milwaukee
- 35 points in Game 5 at Milwaukee
- 27 points and 17 rebounds as Toronto wins the East, 100-94
Kyle Lowry at Scotiabank Arena, Game 2 of the 2019 NBA Finals. Photo by Chensiyuan, CC-BY-SA-4.0, resized.Chapter 3
The title
Toronto beat Golden State in six games. Leonard had 34 points and 14 rebounds in Game 2, 36 and 12 in a 105-92 win in Game 4, and 22 in the 114-110 clincher at Oracle Arena.
He was named Finals MVP for the second time and became the third player to win it with two teams.
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Most points in a single postseason
Only two players have scored more in one playoff run. It is still the only championship in Raptors history.
Staples Center in 2012. Photo by David Jones, CC-BY-2.0, resized.Chapter 4
Los Angeles: seven seasons, one torn ligament
On July 10, 2019, Leonard agreed to a three-year, $103 million deal with the Clippers, and Los Angeles traded for Paul George the same week. He partially tore his ACL in Game 4 of the 2021 second round against Utah, re-signed for four years and $176.3 million that August, and missed all of 2021-22.
Regular-season games with the Clippers
0regular-season games for LA
0points per game
0playoff games in seven years
His last Clippers season was one of his best. He averaged a career-high 27.9 points with 6.4 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.9 steals, scored 45 twice and made the All-NBA Second Team. The Clippers started 6-21, went 36-19 after that, finished 42-40 and lost in the play-in.
Intuit Dome, home of the Clippers, in 2024. Photo by Haruhi8, CC-BY-4.0, resized.Chapter 5
The investigation and the trade
A trade sending Leonard back to Toronto was agreed on June 30, 2026, but it sat while the league finished its investigation into the Clippers’ deals with four companies: Aspiration, Boingo, Daktronics and Lockton.
0first-round picks forfeited by the Clippers
$0Mteam fine
$0paid by Leonard
- Trade agreed in principle
- Raptors say they will wait for the investigation
- Penalties: five first-round picks (2029-2033) and a $30 million fine; one-year suspensions for Steve Ballmer and Gillian Zucker, six months for Lawrence Frank
- Trade completed: Brandon Ingram, Gradey Dick, 2031 and 2033 firsts, a 2027 swap and two seconds go to LA
- Two-year, $115 million extension announced
Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, June 2025. Photo by Daniel (daniel0685), CC-BY-2.0, resized.Chapter 6
Home again
He eased in during preseason: 21 points in 17 minutes in a 148-98 win over New York on October 13, then six in a 122-120 loss at Madison Square Garden two nights later.
“I’m just here to fit in. But fit out a little bit, just by trying to play great basketball and just being aggressive.”— Kawhi Leonard, on his return to Toronto
On opening night, October 21, 19,800 fans watched the Raptors beat Chicago 135-92. Toronto led by as many as 48. Leonard played 24 minutes and scored 23, going 11-of-11 at the line. Immanuel Quickley and Scottie Barnes also scored 23.
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Next up: Toronto plays at Washington on Friday, October 23, at 7 p.m. ET, which is 2 a.m. Saturday in Cairo. Seven years after he walked away from a title team, Leonard is back in the building where he won it.
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