Kawhi Leonard has agreed to a two-year, $115 million contract extension with the Toronto Raptors, securing his return to the franchise where he delivered its first NBA championship in 2019.
The deal includes a player option for the 2028-29 season, according to reports citing Leonard’s agent, Harrison Gaines. The extension gives Leonard three years and $165 million remaining with Toronto when combined with the final season of his existing contract.
Toronto officially announced that Leonard had signed a multi-year extension, although the Raptors did not disclose financial terms under team policy. The agreement came only days after the franchise completed the long-delayed trade that brought the 35-year-old star back from the Los Angeles Clippers.
Leonard reportedly accepted about $11 million less than the maximum extension he could have received and also waived a $7.5 million trade kicker. The move gives Toronto additional salary-cap flexibility while keeping one of the NBA’s most accomplished forwards under contract beyond the current season.
His return to Toronto followed an unusual summer in which the trade was delayed while the NBA investigated the Clippers over alleged salary-cap circumvention involving Leonard. The league ultimately suspended Clippers owner Steve Ballmer for one year, fined the team $30 million and stripped Los Angeles of five first-round draft picks. Leonard was fined $700,000 but was not suspended.
Toronto sent Brandon Ingram, Gradey Dick, two unprotected first-round picks, a first-round pick swap and two second-round picks to acquire Leonard. The trade reunited the forward with the franchise he helped lead to its first championship during the 2018-19 season, when he was also named NBA Finals MVP.
Leonard is coming off the highest-scoring regular season of his career. He averaged 27.9 points, 6.4 rebounds and 3.6 assists in 65 games for the Clippers last season, earning All-NBA Second Team recognition and finishing seventh in MVP voting.
The extension also places greater attention on Leonard’s ability to remain available over the length of the contract. His career has included periods of injury and managed playing time, making his availability an important factor as Toronto builds around him and Scottie Barnes.
For the Raptors, the agreement ends months of uncertainty surrounding their biggest offseason acquisition and establishes a longer window to build around a two-time NBA champion and two-time Finals MVP.
Leonard’s return has now moved beyond a headline-making reunion. With his future in Toronto secured through at least the 2027-28 season, the next chapter will be defined by how the Raptors shape the roster around their returning star and what they can accomplish with him back in the fold.
