The Toronto Raptors got training camp underway this past week with a heavy dose of optimism amid the return of All-Star forward Kawhi Leonard. During Leonard’s lone season with the Raptors in 2018-19, he lead the franchise to its only NBA championship. He’s back after a tumultuous six seasons with the Clippers in which he was hounded by injury issues and failed expectations.

While Kawhi Leonard is initially being limited in training camp, Raptors head coach Darko Rajakovic spoke glowingly of his new star, as per Josh Lewenberg of TSN Sports, which will not doubt bring a few pangs of agony amongst Clippers fans.

“We did a lot of contact, a lot of live 5-on-5,” Rajakovic said. “He did a great job of going out there and trying to feel out his teammates, when to attack, when to pass. I thought he was great today.”

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Amid the injury woes with the Clippers, Leonard is coming off one of his healthiest and most productive seasons. He appeared in 65 games, the second-most of his Clippers tenure, at a little over 32 minutes per game. He averaged a career-high 27.9 points, 6.4 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.9 steals with splits of 50.5 percent shooting from the field, 38.7 percent shooting from the 3-point line and 89.2 percent shooting from the free-throw line.

Leonard will pair up with Scottie Barnes to give the Raptors an intriguing star duo in hopes of competing in the Eastern Conference this season. Last year, the team was eliminated in the opening round of the playoffs by the Cleveland Cavaliers in seven games.