'Very special day': Kawhi Leonard receives warm welcome during Raptors' re-debut in pre-season

John Chidley-Hill · The Canadian Press

· Posted: Oct 13, 2026 7:35 PM EDT | Last Updated: 25 minutes ago

Kawhi Leonard received the loudest ovation during team introductions as he made his re-debut for the Toronto Raptors.

Leonard was in the starting lineup as Toronto hosted the New York Knicks in a pre-season game on Tuesday night. It's the two-time NBA Finals MVP's first game for the Raptors since he was traded by the Los Angeles Clippers back to Toronto this past off-season.

"His minutes are going to be limited, but it's going to be super important to get him there with our guys on the court, to get him integrated," said Raptors head coach Darko Rajakovic in a pre-game media availability. "It's very special that it's happening right here at home, not on some road game, but actually playing in front of our fans in Toronto.

"I think it's a very special day for him. Very special day for us. We're super excited to get him on the floor and to play."

Leonard had previously played for the Raptors in the 2018-19 season, leading them to their only NBA championship. He then signed a lucrative free-agent deal to join his hometown Clippers the following off-season.

L.A. traded him back to Toronto this past summer in a deal delayed by an NBA investigation into Leonard and the Clippers for salary cap circumvention. Although the team, its owner Steve Ballmer and several executives were severely punished by the league, Leonard only received a relatively small fine.

Once the punishments were doled out the trade was able to go through, sending Brandon Ingram, Gradey Dick, two unprotected first-round picks, a 2027 pick swap and two second-round selections to Los Angeles.

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Leonard averaged 27.9 points, 6.3 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 1.9 steals and 0.4 blocks over 65 regular-season games last season for the Clippers.

The goal? Have fun

"Goal for him tonight is to go out there and have a lot of fun. That's the number 1 thing," said Rajakovic, noting that Leonard had been with L.A. for seven seasons. "I don't expect that he's going to pick up on terminology or all the stuff.

"We're teaching him a lot, showing a lot of film, going through a lot of drills and whatnot. Once the ball goes in the air, he just needs to play basketball."

The defending NBA champion Knicks had lost all three of their pre-season games heading into Tuesday's game at Scotiabank Arena. Toronto was 1-1, with three pre-season games left on the Raptors schedule including the game against New York.

Toronto will host the Chicago Bulls on Oct. 21 in their home opener.