A new season begins and a familiar face returns in Toronto tonight as the Raptors open their season against the Chicago Bulls.
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Raptors → begin → Bulls
Kawhi releases hype video on eve of season opener
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Kawhi → release → opener
The night before his official return, Kawhi Leonard released an emotional video where he spoke directly to Raptors fans.
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he → release → fans
The seven-time all-NBA superstar, who led the Raptors to a championship in 2019 and was traded back to Toronto this summer, narrated a video in which he said he’s ready to begin an “unforgettable” return.
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he → lead → return
“What we shared here, that’s forever,” the 35-year-old said in the video.
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old → share → video
“You never asked me to be anyone else.
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You → ask → me
You let me be me.”
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me → let → ?
Leonard, who recently signed a two-year extension with the Raptors that includes a player option for the 2028-29 season, goes on to talk about how fondly he looks back on the 2018-19 season before turning the page and looking toward the immediate future.
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he → sign → future
“They say the second time around isn’t as good as the first.
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time → say → first
But we’ll see.”
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we → see → ?
Kawhi Leonard is back, and so are the Raptors' championship hopes
There will be noise attached to this Raptors season, noise they have not heard for years, associated with legitimate contenders, and noise they are anxiously awaiting.
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they → attach → contenders
They have amassed a roster, on paper, that’s better than any since the championship run seven years ago and with it comes responsibility and attention that’s been foreign of late.
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that → amass → it
If there can be a title attached to Toronto’s coming season it’s this: Great Expectations.
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it → attach → season
“From Day 1, we had clear objectives: to bring the Toronto Raptors to championship level and make them contenders.
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them → have → level
Everything we do every single day is building toward that,” coach Darko Rajakovic says.
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Rajakovic → do → that
“We’re in a cutthroat business and we’re really looking forward to this.
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we → ’re → this
We believe in our team …
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We → believe → team
I think it’s going to be a great year for us.”
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it → think → us
Whether the season turns into a “great” one will only come in the fullness of time and how the playoffs turn out next spring.
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playoffs → turn → time
But the mere fact they feel certain they’ll be playing in April and May and maybe even into June rather than hoping they will has created a new climate throughout the organization.
uncertain
they → feel → organization
If last season’s growth and its success were somewhat unexpected, some improvement in the coming season that starts Wednesday at home against Chicago is demanded.
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that → come → Chicago
A roster built for a run
The Raptors can’t just match what they did in 2025-26; they need to exceed it.
“I think going from 31 to 46 wins (as they did from 2024-25 to 2025-26), it’s not easy in this league to make that kind of jump and we know the next jump is going to be even harder,” general manager Bobby Webster said.
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Webster → build → jump
The reason for the attention now focused on the Raptors and the chatter they are creating around the league is simple: the addition of Kawhi Leonard, making his second stop in Toronto on his way to the Hall of Fame sometime in the future, was a perfect fit for a good, young Raptors team.
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addition → focus → team
Coupled with an all-star in Scottie Barnes, and with RJ Barrett, Immanuel Quickley and Collin Murray-Boyles, Leonard is one of the final pieces of the puzzle.
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Leonard → couple → puzzle
Webster knew when the chance came to acquire him he couldn’t resist.
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he → know → him
“Eight different champions in eight different seasons in the NBA … you have to be opportunistic,” said Webster, who landed Leonard from the Los Angeles Clippers in a trade for Brandon Ingram, Gradey Dick and multiple draft picks.
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who → have → Ingram
The players say they go into every game thinking they can win and that’s true and understandable.
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they → say → game
But they also realize this year they have more raw talent and enough experience that it should provide that little bit of extra they need.
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they → realize → extra
“Since I’ve been here, the expectations have always been to win,” Barnes said during training camp.
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Barnes → win → camp
“Every meeting we’ve had, starting off with Masai (Ujiri, the team’s former president) when he was here, was ‘win, win, win.’
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he → have → Masai
“That’s going to be our expectation.
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That → go → ?
Our goal is to win a championship, but we’ve got to get over that hump in the playoffs.
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we → win → playoffs
I think it’s step by step and it’s the process, but I think we’re heading in the right direction.”
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we → think → direction
The first step came last season when the Raptors made the playoffs for the first time since 2022 and took a first-round series to seven games.
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Raptors → come → games
They learned about themselves — Barnes was dominant at times, the rookie Murray-Boyles was excellent, Ja’Kobe Walter played like a veteran rather than a playoff debutant — and they came to understand the process it took to get there.
What it will mean in this year of great expectations begins with the knowledge of what it takes to get there.
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it → learn → what
“Understanding that games are way more important than we let on,” Jamal Shead said.
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Shead → understand → ?
“I know it’s a long season, but if we win five or six or seven more (regular season) games, we’re in a different position …
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we → know → position
Just understanding that the whole season counts.
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season → understand → ?
We take it as seriously as a playoff game every night.”
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We → take → game
They missed that a year ago.
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They → miss → that
…and 415 more, not listed.
The Aporia
