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DeMar DeRozan Says Raptors Didn't Need Kawhi Leonard Trade To Win 2019 NBA Title

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Would the Toronto Raptors have won the NBA title in the 2018-19 season with DeMar DeRozan instead of Kawhi Leonard?

It seems unlikely. The trade that brought Leonard to Toronto and sent DeRozan to San Antonio is often credited with being the most important factor in the Raptors' surprise title that season.

But DeRozan offered an alternative viewpoint during Thursday's First Take while discussing the topic with Stephen A. Smith (h/t Bryan Kalbrosky of For The Win):

"Never to discredit those guys. They won it. They deserve it. I finally had got to a point where I was happy for them. But for sure. I definitely feel like that. The only person we couldn't beat was LeBron James. That's just what it was. I felt off the year we had before, we just needed one more piece to kind of push us over the top. That piece came to be LeBron going to the West and I didn't get an opportunity to see what would have happened. But the upmost confident in myself, I have no doubt in my mind the same outcome would have happened."

Let's dig in to DeRozan's argument.

To start, we'll take a macro look at Leonard's performance during the 2018-19 postseason. The superstar forward averaged an impressive 30.5 points on 49 percent shooting from the field and 37.9 percent shooting from three, adding 9.1 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 1.7 steals per contest, all while playing elite wing defense.

DeRozan, in his entire career, has never averaged more than 23.9 points per game in a single postseason. In fact, outside of assists, DeRozan has never reached any of the stats in a single playoff run that Leonard posted that postseason. He certainly has never been the sort of defender that Leonard was at the time, and until only recently hasn't been the sort of three-point shooter that Leonard was during those playoffs.

But let's zoom in further.

Leonard's best series, by far, came in the epic second-round clash with the Philadelphia 76ers, a team that had arguably the best starting five in the NBA (Joel Embiid, Jimmy Butler, Ben Simmons, Tobias Harris and JJ Redick) at the time.

Leonard's legendary three-pointer in Game 7 to clinch the series will be the first memory that comes to mind, but he absolutely carried the Raptors through all seven games, averaging 34.7 points, 9.9 rebounds, four assists and 1.3 steals while shooting 53 percent from the floor.

And he did that while often dealing with the defensive shadow of Simmons, at the time one of the NBA's best one-on-one defenders. With many of his teammates struggling against Philly's length—Pascal Siakam was the team's second-leading scorer in the series, posting 19.4 points per game—literally every single point from Leonard was needed.

He surpassed the 40-point mark twice in that series, both in wins (Games 1 and 7). He posted four double-doubles, three of which came in victories. He exceeded 40 minutes of playing time in four of the contests. It was a Herculean effort.

From there, the Raptors would go on to defeat the Giannis Antetokounmpo-led Milwaukee Bucks in six games during the Eastern Conference Finals and the injury-depleted Golden State Warriors in six games in the NBA Finals. Would inserting DeRozan—who has unquestionably had a fantastic career—for Leonard in those two series been enough to advance?

Perhaps. But it's impossible to ignore that Leonard provided the sort of performance against Philly that DeRozan hasn't proven capable of replicating during his postseason career. Frankly, few players could match what Leonard provided in that series, and during those playoffs in general.

Charles Barkley Gives A Brutally Honest Opinion On How Giannis Antetokounmpo Can Win Another NBA Championship

Giannis Antetokounmpo and Charles Barkley

Since joining the NBA, Giannis Antetokounmpo has established himself as one of the league's best players. The Milwaukee Bucks star reached new heights in 2021 when he led the Bucks to an NBA championship and earned Finals MVP honors. This was Antetokounmpo's second MVP award, following his regular-season MVP win the previous year.

Recently, former NBA star Charles Barkley appeared on the Bill Simmons podcast and shared his thoughts on how Giannis can win another championship. Barkley claimed that while Antetokounmpo is an exceptional talent, he still needs to improve his game.

"Giannis has to get better as a basketball player. Just going downhill 1-on-5 isn't going to work. It doesn't work, and he's a terrific player and a terrific kid, but he has to get better as a basketball player. I'm not a Milwaukee guy," Barkley said.

Despite Barkley's critique, Giannis already has a resume that rivals Barkley's own NBA career. Last season, Antetokounmpo averaged 30.4 points, 11.5 rebounds, 6.5 assists, 1.2 steals, and 1.1 blocks per game when the Bucks ended the season with a record of 49-33.

While Giannis Antetokounmpo has faced criticism from figures like Kevin Garnett, he also has admirers, including Denver Nuggets star Michael Porter Jr. During his appearance on The Ringer's Off Guard Podcast with Austin Rivers, Porter Jr. Made a bold statement about Antetokounmpo's talent.

"If you take some of these players and put them then… like, if you put Giannis [Antetokounmpo] in that era, he would've been the best player to ever touch a basketball," Porter Jr. Said.

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The eight-time NBA All-Star will begin his upcoming season against the Boston Celtics on October 28. Fans will watch to see if he can live up to these high expectations again.

Also Read: Giannis Antetokounmpo Is Willing To Pay A Massive Amount Of Money For A Rare Team USA Card Autographed By LeBron James, Steph Curry, And Kevin Durant

Here's What We Know And Don't Know About The Reported Giannis Antetokounmpo And Mariah Riddlesprigger Wedding This Weekend In Greece

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