After rarely speaking during a yearlong scandal centered on him, the seldom-heard Kawhi Leonard is using his words to prop up his new team.
After officially being traded to the Toronto Raptors in the wake of a summer of uncertainty, Leonard spoke on his new/old team’s “Open Gym,” a documentary-style program following the team. Leonard hit on a range of topics in a nine-minute clip published Wednesday on YouTube, including his own legacy, which will forever remain difficult to define.
“I’m not really championship chasing. … I didn’t want to put on a thousand jerseys,” Leonard said in the video. “This city took a liking to my family, and I took a liking to this city. I really liked it. My son was born here, and he’s been asking me forever when he’s going to come back. Now he’s back, and he’s able to see it rather than me tell him the great stories that happened.”
Leonard famously led the Raptors to their only NBA championship in 2019 after the team boldly traded for him despite no guarantee that he would remain in Toronto when he became a free agent the following summer. He indeed left and signed with the LA Clippers, where he spent seven injury- and controversy-plagued seasons.
The Raptors are again acquiring Leonard with just one year remaining on his deal. In an ironic twist, one of the likely reasons he wants to be in Toronto is the Raptors are reportedly enthusiastic about offering him an extension ahead of his free agency.
In the “Open Gym” clip, Bobby Webster, the Raptors’ top basketball decision-maker, joked, “Board man gets paid” after what appeared to be a phone call with Leonard, referencing one of Leonard’s exclamations in high school that became part of his New Balance marketing campaign. The story surfaced during the Raptors’ title run.
Leonard, infamously, was at the heart of the Clippers’ cap-circumvention scandal. The league hit the Clippers with several penalties, including stripping them of five first-round picks. In connection with the violations, Leonard had to pay the league $700,000 but received no further penalties.
The Raptors had put the trade, agreed to by the teams on June 30, on hold until the league’s investigation was over. They wanted to make sure Leonard’s contract wasn’t voided, which would have left them down the players and picks they traded for Leonard, as well as Leonard himself.
Leonard is excited about how this worked out.
“This city always gave me love and showed support from everybody. I’m happy that they love what I did here,” Leonard said. “I gave this city everything. I was coming in that year injured, and I just gave them my all.
“Hopefully they embrace me back and (I) give them all again, and we can make something special happen once again.”
Leonard touched on a few other topics:
• He spoke with Raptors coach Darko Rajaković about new teammate Scottie Barnes, who finished fifth in 2025-26 Defensive Player of the Year voting and made All-Defense Second Team: “If it’s Scottie’s team, it’s his team,” Leonard told Rajaković. “I want to do whatever it takes to help you guys.”
Rajaković also pointed out that his first NBA job was with the San Antonio Spurs, who he helped with international scouting and coaching. He mentioned that he was in the draft room in 2011 when the Spurs traded guard George Hill for the pick they used to select Leonard.
• On the team as a whole: “You know I’m competitive. I think we’ve got a great chance. This group played great last year. I watched them a lot. … You’ve got Scottie Barnes, (he) showed his talents over the past two, three years. He’s become an All-Star. He’s going to be a problem this next coming year.
“I love the young guy (Collin Murray-Boyles). He brings a lot of energy to the team, shows relentlessness on the court, not scared of nobody.”
• Leonard did not talk about the investigation, which has dominated the last year of his life. Expect that to be a theme this year.