Toronto Raptors: 3 best things from 2019-20 season so far

1. Pascal Siakam’s arrival

Sure, many people thought Pascal Siakam had arrived last year when he earned the Most Improved Player award. But he was thriving in Kawhi Leonard‘s shadow, a condition that didn’t persist into this season.

That’s been no matter for Siakam. He’s taken to the limelight like butter on toast, emerging as an All-Star (and All-Star starter) for the first time in his career and taking his place as one of the league’s best players.

So far this season, Siakam is averaging career highs in points (23.6 points per game), rebounds (7.5 rebounds per game), assists (3.5 assists per game), blocks (1.0 blocks per game) and steals (1.0 steals per game). He leads Toronto in scoring and ranks in the top three in rebounds, assists and blocks.

He’s also putting in the work in his defensive game. Last season, he set a career-high With 3.6 Defensive Win Shares (per Basketball-Reference). This season, he’s already at 3.0 Defensive Win Shares and should set a new personal record by the end of the year.

Most importantly, Siakam is validating Toronto’s decision to build around him for the future. The 25-year-old signed a four-year, $130 million contract extension at the beginning of the season. It was a slight risk on a player who had never even been to an All-Star Game. Now, that contract is going to look like the building block for the franchise.

Pascal Siakam’s continued development is the best thing the Toronto Raptors have experienced this season.