Prediction #2 – He Will Average A Career High in Points

Kawhi Leonard averaged 25.5 points per game in 2016-17, a season in which he’d finish in the top 3 for MVP voting. He averaged this mark while playing for Gregg Popovich in San Antonio, a coach who is notorious for spreading the offensive workload throughout a team. Despite being clearly the Spurs’ best player, Leonard’s usage rate was only 8th in the entire league that season.

Comparatively, DeMar DeRozan ranked third in the league in usage. DeRozan was an All-Star that year and played very well, but Leonard was far and away the better player – even though he had the ball in his hands less. If Kawhi Leonard is asked to do as much as DeRozan was with the Raptors, there’s no limit to how effective and efficient he could be as an offensive player.

With the freedom – and burden – to do more offensively in Toronto, Kawhi should score more points than he ever has before. Leonard’s ability to score from any area on the floor, combined with the easy high-percentage looks he could get as a result of created turnovers add up to a high scoring rate.

He has the potential to be among the league’s elite in points per game, and with the spotlight firmly on him, that potential could very well be realized. With perennial All-Star point guard Kyle Lowry there to distribute, Leonard should be able to at least match his offensive output from two seasons ago, if not outright surpass it.

Next Up: He Will Stay in Toronto