Kawhi Leonard: Toronto 'Want Me To Be Me,' Talks Transition From Spurs

Kawhi Leonard impressed yet again as the Toronto Raptors improved their regular season record to 7-1 on Tuesday night.

Leonard scored a joint-game high 31 points while also contributing with seven rebounds, four assists and four steals to help the Raptors defeat the Philadelphia 76ers in a 129-112 win at the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto.

It means Toronto are in second place, only behind the 7-0 Milwaukee Bucks in the Eastern Conference, where the argument can be made that if Leonard had played in their loss against the Bucks on Sunday, they may have still been unbeaten.

Regardless, it has been a dream start to life with the Raptors for Leonard, as the franchise looks to live up to its billing as one of the favorites from the Eastern Conference.

"We're very long, skilled, we can switch one through five most games and that's helping us out there," Leonard said after the game. "If guys get by us, we're coming over helping and we have an attitude of wanting to defend and that's working for us."

Toronto was never Leonard's choice in the first place. When it was reported that he wanted out of the San Antonio Spurs earlier this summer, it was his native Los Angeles that was his preferred destination.

In the end, he was traded to the Raptors and while he could still yet become an unrestricted free agent next summer, the 27-year-old seems to be enjoying his current situation.

"It's been great, like I said before, everyone's just been great," Leonard explained when asked about the transition to Toronto. "Trying to make me comfortable, getting me on my spots on the floor, they want me to be me out there on the court and [head coach] Nick Nurse has his ears open and listens to his players. That just helps us, going out there and playing freely."

Along with his offense, Leonard is regarded as one of the top defensive players in the league, and helped contribute to Sixers guard Ben Simmons having a nightmare game with a career-high 11 turnovers.

Leonard's performance showed why he was named Defensive Player of the Year twice as well as why Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green, the winner of the award in 2017, only sees him as his competition in that department.

“I got much respect for him,” Green recently told Yahoo Sports of Leonard. “But I think I’m the best. If you want my honest opinion, there’s no one in the [contemporary] category with me but Kawhi.”

The Raptors face the Phoenix Suns on Friday next.

A win in Arizona would take them to 8-1 in what would already be a huge improvement after nine games compared to last season where despite starting off 5-4, they still finished the regular season as the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference.

Leonard meanwhile, looks to be an early contender for the MVP award as he currently averages 26.6 points, 8.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game so far this season.