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No Kawhi Leonard in Quebec City or Vancouver for Raptors

Debut of prized acquisition will have to wait as Raptors opt to be cautious.

Published Oct 03, 2026  •  Last updated 12 hours ago  •  2 minute read

Kawhi Leonard of the Toronto Raptors speaks to media during the Toronto Raptors media day on Sept. 28, 2026 in Toronto. Photo by Cole Burston /Getty Images

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Kawhi Leonard’s second debut with the Toronto Raptors will have to wait.

The team opted to leave its star acquisition out of the lineup for its pre-season debut in Quebec City on Saturday. night. Since camp opened on Monday, Leonard had been a limited participant and this is all part of the plan following a strange summer.

Because the trade to acquire Leonard from the Los Angeles Clippers was held up for more than two months due to the salary cap circumvention investigation, Leonard was not around the team working out on the court, so he is a bit behind. Add his history of injury management, and it’s not a surprise he will take a while to ramp up.

Raptors head coach Darko Rajakovic told reporters in Quebec City it is unlikely that Leonard plays in Toronto’s second pre-season game, next Saturday in Vancouver — ironically against the Clippers — either.

“We’re being super cautious to build him up the right way,” Rajakovic told reporters.

That would put him in line to debut at home on Oct. 13 against NBA champion New York, or two days later in the rematch at Madison Square Garden. Toronto’s final pre-season game goes a day later in Detroit before the season opens Oct. 21 with Chicago visiting Toronto.

Miami did not sit its big acquisition though, playing Giannis Antetokounmpo in the first NBA pre-season game of the year. Antetokounmpo was acquired from Milwaukee in July for a bevy of players and draft picks.

Since the Bucks had no chance of contending, Antetokounmpo was finally ready for a change and chose Miami, just as other future Hall of Famers such as Shaquille O’Neal, Ray Allen, Jimmy Butler and LeBron James have in the past.

Former Raptors NBA Finals adversary Klay Thompson also made his Miami debut.

The Raptors had only 12 active players, with rookie Allen Graves sidelined, along with veteran forward Kyle Anderson and sharp-shooter Jamison Battle. None of the injuries are believed to be significant.

Toronto started Ja’Kobe Walter for Leonard, along with Immanuel Quickley, RJ Barrett, Scottie Barnes and Jakob Poeltl.

Miami went with Adebayo, Antetokounmpo, Andrew Wiggins, Thompson and Davion Mitchell.

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