bleacherreport
Kawhi Leonard made a triumphant return to the Toronto Raptors on Thursday night, contributing 23 points in just 24 minutes as the Raptors dominated the Chicago Bulls 135-92 in their season opener. Despite the limited playing time, Leonard expressed no urgency to increase his minutes, telling reporters that greatness cannot be rushed.
When asked about a target date for full participation, Leonard replied, "I don't put targets. You can't rush greatness." He elaborated that the decision would be made in consultation with the medical staff and based on how he feels. "Whenever the medical thinks I could push forward, and I'm feeling great whatever numbers we're looking at, or they're looking at, then that's when that time will come," he said. "I'm just happy to be out there and try to do the best I can with my minutes."
Leonard's shooting performance was less efficient than usual—he made only 5 of 17 field goals and 2 of 6 three-pointers—but he was perfect from the free-throw line, hitting all 11 attempts. He also filled the stat sheet with six rebounds, two assists, four steals, and one block. It was his first game with the Raptors since leading them to an NBA championship in 2019.
Raptors head coach Darko Rajaković dismissed concerns about Leonard's shooting percentage, stating, "I thought the shots that he was getting were really good shots. He's still building his capacity to play... every minute that he spends on the court, that capacity is going to just go up." Rajaković also noted that Leonard had requested more playing time after being substituted out late in the blowout.
Leonard explained his desire for additional minutes in the fourth quarter, saying, "I haven't gotten a chance to play a lot in training camp, so any minutes I can get, or continue to play—I know we was blowing them out, but the goal was to try to get 23, 24 minutes tonight, and I just need more reps to learn plays." He added, "You get better on the floor, and trying things, and shooting the ball when you're open. You can't wait 'til practice and just shoot 100 shots. You need game reps."
The Raptors initially agreed to acquire Leonard from the Los Angeles Clippers in June, but the trade was not finalized until late September following an NBA investigation into alleged salary cap circumvention. Rajaković mentioned last month that the team would carefully manage Leonard's workload, considering his age and injury history. Leonard himself admitted last month that he "wasn't able to really do much with the trade in a holding pattern."
Leonard will have his next opportunity to continue adjusting to the Raptors after seven years away when the team travels to face Anthony Davis and the Washington Wizards on Friday night. The Wizards opened their season on Wednesday with a win over the Milwaukee Bucks.
Originally reported by bleacherreport.