Ja’Kobe Walter Takes Over Kawhi Leonard’s Raptors Starting Spot

Ja’Kobe Walter now owns the Toronto Raptors starting spot after the team announced Tuesday that Kawhi Leonard will be shut down for at least a week with swelling in his left knee. Leonard will undergo treatment and rehabilitation and be reevaluated in a week, and ESPN reports the absence could last a period of weeks. Three games into the season, Toronto has to build around its star’s absence. The news comes less than a week after the Raptors opened the season with a statement win over the Bulls , and it follows a Friday game in Washington where Leonard logged his heaviest workload since last April. The team does not call this an injury. It describes the swelling as wear and tear, with no pain and no structural damage on the MRI. Leonard did notice something during Sunday’s pregame warm-up and was ruled out roughly an hour before tip-off. Walter’s First Start Delivered Walter’s first start of the season came Sunday in Minnesota, and he was the best player in a 117-94 loss. He scored a team-high 22 points on 7/12 shooting, made five of his eight three-point attempts and added four rebounds, two assists, two steals and a block in 31 minutes. Toronto made only 10 of 38 threes as a team, so Walter hit half of the Raptors’ makes from deep. That was a jump from his first two games, when he averaged 8.5 points in 23.5 minutes. The shooting was not a surprise, though. In the preseason blowout of the Knicks , he scored 14 points off the bench with four threes. Walter is a 22-year-old third-year guard who averaged 8.1 points per game over his first three seasons, and Sunday gave him the biggest scoring night of his young career in a role he had not held in the regular season. What Darko Rajakovic Said Head coach Darko Rajakovic said Walter will definitely get more playing time with Leonard out, but he did not commit to him starting every night. He said Walter brings great three-point shooting and an outlet for the offense, and he added that Walter is not the only player who can fill that role. Rookie Allen Graves and veteran Kyle Anderson have both been mentioned as candidates for more responsibility. Why The Raptors Starting Spot Matters The Raptors starting spot is not a normal one to fill, because Leonard’s absence takes away more than scoring. Through two games, he averaged 19.5 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 3.5 steals, even while shooting 32.4%. Sunday’s starting five of Immanuel Quickley , Walter, RJ Barrett , Scottie Barnes and Jakob Poeltl needed spacing, and Walter supplied it while Barnes went 0/12 from the field. TSN’s Josh Lewenberg wrote that Walter is probably the biggest beneficiary of Leonard’s absence. The Raptors starting spot gives him a chance to show he can sustain the shooting over more than one game, against defenses that will now pay more attention to him. Who Else Gets The Minutes The ripple effect reaches the rest of the rotation. Graves had four assists on Sunday after scoring seven points in his first two NBA games. Collin Murray-Boyles , who is already building a Sixth Man case , grabbed seven rebounds and is the other player in line for a bigger share of the frontcourt minutes. Anderson brings veteran experience that Toronto may need on nights when the offense stalls. Rajakovic said other players must step up, and the next test comes quickly. Toronto hosts Orlando on Wednesday and Friday at Scotiabank Arena, two games in three days. Leonard’s reevaluation is set for about a week from now. The Last Word Walter’s 22 points do not change the fact that Toronto is thinner without Leonard, but they give the team a real answer for the Raptors starting spot. Leonard’s right knee has a history, with an ACL tear in 2021 and a meniscus tear in 2023, and the left knee is a new concern. That makes the ramp-up the staff has been managing look wiser. For Walter, a longer run in the lineup could define his third season. For Toronto, the danger is that the offense leans too heavily on shooting from a few players while Barnes works through his slump. If Walter keeps hitting threes and the Raptors’ starting spot stays stable, Toronto can survive the stretch. Featured Image: Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images More NBA News: Raptors Have Options to Replace Kawhi Leonard in Lineup; What Should Darko Rajakovic Do and When Will Leonard Return? 2027 NBA Draft Prospect Preview: Arizona Wildcats’ Caleb Holt Steven Adams Injury Update: 1 Key Matchup For Houston