Just as things were starting to get quiet in the NBA, a flurry of scheduling news was leaked on Friday, including the dates of a few notable returns for star players. At the top of the list is Kawhi Leonard, who will make his return to Toronto on Dec. 11, 2019, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic.
Here is the full list, which also includes returns for guys like Anthony Davis and Russell Westbrook.
Sources: Notable superstar return games on 2019-20 NBA schedule:
Clippers’ Kawhi Leonard at Toronto: Dec. 11
Lakers‘ Anthony Davis at New Orleans: Nov. 27
Nets‘ Kyrie Irving at Boston: Nov. 27
Rockets’ Russell Westbrook at Oklahoma City: Jan. 9.— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) August 2, 2019
Sources: Dallas Mavericks All-Star Kristaps Porzingis makes his return to New York on Nov. 14 to play the Knicks at Madison Square Garden. Porzingis signed a new five-year, $158M maximum deal with Dallas this summer.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) August 2, 2019
Leonard only spent one season with the Raptors, but during his time up north, he made quite the impact on the entire nation of Canada by bringing Toronto its first-ever NBA title. For what ultimately ended up being a one-year rental, things could have gone a whole lot worse, especially when all the Raptors had to give was DeMar DeRozan, Jakob Poeltl and a late first-round pick.
Will that stop some fans from booing? Probably not, but it’s probably more likely that he gets a standing ovation upon his return to the Scotiabank Arena. The same can’t be said of a few other players on that list. For example, Irving’s last year in Boston was the antithesis of Leonard’s one year in Toronto, while Davis’ breakup with the Pelicans wasn’t exactly pretty. It’s probably safe to assume that both of those guys will hear it from fans in the cities they once called home.
