Kawhi Leonard let his hair out.
In his debut with the Toronto Raptors, Leonard didn’t rock his signature headband and braids. Instead, he worked with his natural hair — and based on the final scoreboard against the Chicago Bulls, it certainly worked.
It was such an odd offseason for Leonard, who was part of the agreed-to trade back to the organization he won a championship with, but then was involved in a long investigation for his involvement in an off-court impermissible payments scheme.
In the end, Leonard was punished, but not too severely — and the trade still went through, so he’s still playing for the Raptors.
His debut back in Toronto on Wednesday night wasn’t perfect, but it was very impressive as a whole as the Raptors routed the Bulls.
Kawhi Leonard Stats
The one thing missing from Leonard’s first game with the Raptors was efficiency, because he had just about everything else.
Leonard scored 23 points, but he was just 5-for-17 from the floor, including 2-for-6 from 3-point range.
The greatness shone through at the foul line, though, where the smooth Leonard was 11-for-11.
Leonard added six rebounds and two assists. He swiped four steals and blocked one shot.
In his 24 minutes, Leonard was a plus-12.
Toronto didn’t need him to play more than that, because it was a total blowout.
Raptors Win By 43
The Raptors put a beating on the Bulls to begin the season, a 135-92 victory.
Leonard was one of four Raptors to drop at least 20. Scottie Barnes and Immanuel Quickly also had 23 apiece, and R.J. Barrett put up 20.
The big thing everyone wanted to see with this new-look Raptors team was defense, though, and they certainly delivered there.
The Raptors had 15 steals and forced the Bulls into 27 total turnovers. Toronto by comparison turned the ball over just 11 times.
Toronto’s length also may have impacted the Bulls’ outside shooting, because Chicago was just 4-for-36 from 3-point range.
The Bulls gave up 35 points off turnovers, and 34 fast break points. The Raptors shot 13% better from the floor, 21% better from 3-point range and even 8% better from the foul line — with those representing percentage point jumps from one team to the other.
The Raptors never trailed on Wednesday, showing just how potent they have the potential to be this season.
There will be better opponents than the Bulls, but this is as good as a Raptors team has been in a while. Maybe Leonard back in a Toronto uniform, even with some mixing-it-up hair, will work wonders for everyone involved.
Kawhi Leonard’s Hair, Performance Stand Out in Raptors Return From Clippers