Key to Whether Toronto Raptors Can Repeat Appears to Center Around Whether Kawhi Leonard Stays or Goes

2019 NBA Champions

Toronto Raptors

So, the Toronto Raptors defeated the largely depleted Warriors to win the first ever NBA title for a team outside of the United States.

And of course, it took no time at all for people to begin to ask the inevitable question that is asked of all new champions: can they do it again? Also, how long can they stay on top enough to keep competing for titles?

There is no definitive answer to that question, because you never know the answer. Championship teams, and even dynasties, can end in a hurry, due to a myriad number of reasons. They can age, they can lose focus, or injuries can pile up. They can lose their desire. Other teams can figure them out. Or someone better simply comes around and knocks them off, and they never bounce back enough to get back to that elite level. After all, who would have thought that the 1985 Chicago Bears, one of the greatest teams in sports history, would be relegated to only that one championship season? Or that it would take so long for the Washington Capitals to win the Stanley Cup (and they also have only won one title thus far, despite being one of the most talented teams for over a decade)? 

Things happen in sports. The star player gets injured, and that derails a promising season. Or a team simply loses a huge game in gut-wrenching fashion, and never recover. The Bills never recovered from the "wide right" field goal kick in the Super Bowl. The Knicks never recovered from the numerous losses to Jordan's Bulls and Miller's Pacers in the nineties in basketball. The Orlando Magic looked like a dynasty in the making, and they never made it back to the NBA Finals with Penny and Shaq after getting swept in the 1995 NBA Finals. Atlanta has yet to show the promise that they displayed in taking a commanding 28-3 lead against New England in the Super Bowl before blowing it and losing. The 1996 Detroit Red Wings, 2001 Seattle Mariners, 2007 New England Patriots, 2016 Golden State Warriors, and 2019 Tampa Bay Lightning set unbelievable records with unprecedented winning and dominance during the regular season, but fell short of championships when the playoffs rolled around. Hell, the Lightning did not even win a single game in the postseason, despite tying the '96 Red Wings for the most wins that any team has enjoyed during a season. 

So, you never know when that window of opportunity is going to close. 

But at least, once you have won a championship, that biggest hurdle, the monkey on your back, is over with. You managed to at least win that title, and often, that allows you to be better able to overcome the obstacles to other championships down the road. 

The newly crowned Toronto Raptors now have that chance. They are a young team, and yet they managed to already gain the obviously valuable experience of a championship run. So, yes, the question then is: can they do it again?

The answer to that right now seems to revolve around whether or not they can retain the services of their true star, Kawhi Leonard. Usually, when a team wins a championship, their is plenty of motivation for that star player to stay. Yet Leonard still has remained uncommitted to staying in what sure seems like a great, truly wonderful situation. 

So, that appears to be the major question facing the Raptors now, or at least after they stop celebrating this championship. 

Dan Favale of The Bleacher Report recently summed it up pretty well in an article about Leonard and his decision to stay or go:

Leonard can still leave. He's earned the right to choose. He owes the Raptors nothing after helping them get everything.   

But if he heads elsewhere after what they just did, knowing what they're still built to do, then they never had a chance of keeping him in the first place.

Yup. That sounds about right.

But right now, he has everything he wants in Toronto. It is a great situation, with an incredible team that has everything in place to have a realistic run at more championships for years to come. And by leading this franchise to it's first ever title, he has instantly become the most recognizable name and face in this still relatively young franchise's history. Stay in Toronto, win some more titles, and this guy can become a true legend.

Let us hope he decides to do the right thing!

Here is a video of Kawhi Leonard discussing free agency right after he led the Toronto Raptors to their first ever NBA title, and for which he won the NBA Finals MVP Award:

Here is the link to the Favale article that I mentioned earlier:

NBA Champion Toronto Raptors Have Everything Kawhi Leonard Needs to Keep Winning by Dan Favale, June 14, 2019:

https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2804065-nba-champion-toronto-raptors-have-everything-kawhi-leonard-needs-to-keep-winning