NBA: Biggest X-factor for all 30 teams in the 2019-20 season

Toronto Raptors: Pascal Siakam

Pascal Siakam was the darling of the basketball world last season, helping the Toronto Raptors to their first-ever NBA championship with a regular-season performance that had him take home the Most Improved Player trophy as well.

After averaging 16.9 points and 6.9 rebounds a game during the regular season, he bumped those averages up in both the playoffs and Finals.

Most of those numbers, however, came in the presence of Kawhi Leonard, the reigning Finals MVP whose superstar level of play draws plenty of defensive attention away from his teammates.

To his credit, Siakam did just fine in the absence of Leonard, averaging 19.1 points on 55.2 percent shooting along with 8.0 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game across 21 regular-season outings, but those games came sprinkled across 82.

Now set to function as the No. 1 option offensively, he’ll face far stiffer gameplans that will likely take away whatever easy looks he got last season.

Without Kawhi, Toronto doesn’t have enough to realistically defend its title, but there’s a level of hope present that usually disappears when a player the caliber of Leonard does.

Most of that optimism is a result of Siakam’s rapid development from a raw prospect to one on the verge of All-Star status.

He’s passed just about every test placed in front of him last year, thriving during the regular season before turning up the dial in the playoffs.

There’s little reason to doubt he’ll take on this latest challenge head-on, but how well he handles it will greatly determine the Raptor’s place in the standings next season.