Fred VanVleet Says Raptors Would Have Three-Peat Had Kawhi Leonard Stayed

Oh, what could have been?

The Toronto Raptors had everything in place in 2019-20 to repeat as NBA champions had Kawhi Leonard opted to stay in Toronto. Kyle Lowry, Pascal Siakam, and Fred VanVleet were all sticking around. Serge Ibaka and Marc Gasol both had another year on their deals. Even Danny Green, a free agent at the time, was willing to return to Toronto had Leonard re-signed.

But it was too good to be true for the Raptors. After one year in Toronto, Leonard left, signing with the Los Angeles Clippers and ruining the dream of a dynasty in Toronto.

So what would have happened had he stuck around Toronto?

"Three-peat. For sure," VanVleet told Ibaka on the latest episode of How Hungry are You? "It was just a perfect group of individuals and we all understood, everybody had the right mindset for the roles. I think definitely we would have won a few more."

Toronto still had a chance to repeat or at least make things interesting in 2019-20. The Raptors were 46-18, good for the third-best record in the league when the COVID-19 pandemic shut down the NBA. Four months later, when the league resumed in the Orlando Bubble, nothing felt the same. Siakam was out of rhythm and Toronto eventually fell short in Game 7 against the Boston Celtics.

"I really believed that we could have won a championship that year," VanVleet said. "We really should have won a championship that year and I think we all thought that and believed that. Losing in the Bubble was heartbreaking."

To VanVleet, the loss in the Bubble was worse than the following season when everything went awry for the Raptors. The organization was forced to relocate to Tampa and COVID-19 ended Toronto's streak of playoff appearances. It may have been VanVleet's first time missing the playoffs, but the pain still didn't equal the feeling of what could have been in 2020.