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Ben RohrbachSenior writerTue, June 30, 2026 at 10:19 PM UTC·4 min read

Everyone loves a good reunion, and Kawhi Leonard is returning to the Toronto Raptors.

When last we saw Leonard sporting dinosaurs, in his lone season in Toronto, he led the Raptors on a magical run to the 2019 NBA championship, the franchise's first title.

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It had cost them DeMar DeRozan, Jakob Poeltl and a first-round draft pick (Keldon Johnson), and it was worth every penny, because they won. But Leonard did immediately leave Toronto at the altar in 2019 free agency, choosing instead to team with Paul George on their hometown Los Angeles Clippers, where controversy ensued over seven years.

Leonard, in coordination with the Clippers, remains under investigation by the NBA for allegedly circumventing the salary cap. A Pulitzer Prize-winning investigation by Pablo Torre uncovered an alleged no-show job that earned Leonard an additional $50 million.

Leonard received $291.7 million from the Clippers, and allegedly more, over seven years. He is owed $50.3 million this coming season and presumably wants much more. As Chris Haynes reported, Leonard is already working on a two-year contract extension in Toronto.

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Beyond the controversy, though, there is plenty of injury concern about Leonard. He left the San Antonio Spurs in 2019 with what was termed as right quadriceps tendinopathy, a chronic condition in his leg. But the Raptors gambled and managed the then-27-year-old, who delivered 60 games in the regular season and 24 even better ones in the playoffs.

Leonard was phenomenal in the 2019 postseason, averaging a 31-9-4 on 49/38/88 shooting splits, defeating Joel Embiid's Philadelphia 76ers (thanks to a buzzer-beating Game 7 winner from Leonard), Giannis Antetokounmpo's Milwaukee Bucks and Stephen Curry's dynastic (albeit injury-plagued) Golden State Warriors en route to his second Finals MVP award. (He also took home the honor in 2014, when his Spurs won the title.)

Was that lightning in a bottle? Due to injury, Leonard missed 40% of the Clippers' regular-season games and 30% of their playoff games in his seven seasons, including their only trip to a conference finals in 2021, when his right ACL required season-ending surgery. He missed the entirety of the 2021-22 season and has dealt with inflammation in the knee ever since — concerns that cost him the end of the 2023 and 2024 postseasons, too.

After appearing in just 37 games of the 2024-25 season, Leonard enjoyed a bounce-back campaign at the age of 34 this past year, averaging a 28-6-4 on 51/39/89 shooting splits over 65 games. It was arguably the best statistical season of his career. He earned MVP and All-NBA First Team consideration, despite the controversy ever-swirling around him.

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It is not controversy that should concern the Raptors. It is injury. How could they possibly put their faith into Leonard's right leg seven years removed from a miracle season, and one season removed from another? It does feel like every game Leonard plays is a gift.

But that's the thing. When he plays, man, is he good. He is a gift to the basketball gods, a two-way menace on par with anyone in his generation at his peak, and he gives Toronto a chance to win. With All-Star forward Scottie Barnes and a ton of talent around them, including RJ Barrett, Immanuel Quickley and Collin Murray-Boyles, they can compete in an open Eastern Conference. The Raptors limped to a Game 7 in the first round without Leonard.

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Now, they enter the summer with the chance to further bolster the roster, having landed Leonard in the hours before free agency opened. Might more moves be on the horizon?

Regardless, everything hinges on the health of Leonard. It cost them Brandon Ingram (a 28-year-old two-time All-Star), Gradey Dick, two first-round draft picks, a first-round pick swap and a pair of second-rounders, according to Charania. That was not much more than they gave up for him the first time around. It paid off before. Why not again? Well, does lightning in a bottle strike twice? Is this a good reunion? Only time will tell.

Trump Trolls Supreme Court on China's 'Massive Birthright Citizenship Win'

Trump Trolls Supreme Court on China’s ‘Massive Birthright Citizenship Win’

President Donald J. Trump greets President Xi Jinping of the People’s Republic of China — Official White House Photo by Daniel Torok via Flickr

Elizabeth Weibel30 Jun 2026

President Donald Trump trolled the Supreme Court, congratulating Chinese dictator Xi Jinping and China on the court’s ruling rejecting Trump’s reform of birthright citizenship in the United States.

“I would like to congratulate President Xi, and the Great Country of China, on their massive Birthright Citizenship WIN!” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social.

Trump’s post comes after the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 against Trump’s executive order making changes to birthright citizenship, stating that it “violates the 14th Amendment of the Constitution.”

Breitbart News’s Neil Munro reported that while the vote was 6-3, Justice Brett Kavanaugh stated that “Trump and other politicians can change the rule via legislation”:

The decision was 6 to 3 against Trump, but Justice Brett Kavanaugh argued that Trump and other politicians can change the rule via legislation.

“Citizenship, then and now,” Chief Justice John Roberts wrote for the majority, “was the right to have rights — to freely participate in our political community. The Framers of the Fourteenth Amendment extended that promise to ‘every free-born person in this land.’ We keep that promise today.”

The Supreme Court’s decision mandated citizenship for the children of illegal migrants, foreign workers, and even government-funded foreign tourists.

An executive order from January 20, 2025, stated that “the privilege of United States citizenship is a priceless and profound gift.” The executive order also said, “the Fourteenth Amendment has never been interpreted to extend citizenship universally to everyone born within the United States. The Fourteenth Amendment has always excluded from birthright citizenship persons who were born in the United States but not ‘subject to the jurisdiction thereof.'”

After the Supreme Court’s ruling, Trump wrote in another post on Truth Social that “Congress should start TODAY to work on ending” birthright citizenship.

In January, Breitbart News reported that investigative journalist and Breitbart News senior contributor Peter Schweizer revealed in his book, The Invisible Coup: How American Elites and Foreign Powers Use Immigration as a Weapon, how “more than one million Chinese” who have U.S. citizenship and grew up in China would “soon start voting in American elections.”

MLB Home Run Derby 2026: Rays’ Junior Caminero joins the field

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MLB Home Run Derby 2026: Rays’ Junior Caminero joins the field

The Home Run Derby trophy as seen during the event.

This year's Home Run Derby will take place at Citizens Bank Park as part of MLB's All-Star week. Kevin C. Cox / Getty Images

By Johnny Flores Jr.June 30, 2026 8:09 pm EDT Updated

Major League Baseball’s All-Star season is finally here, and the announcements are starting to pile up. After the first two starters for the American and National League teams were revealed last week — Ernie Clement and Shohei Ohtani, respectively — the first competitor for the Home Run Derby was announced on Tuesday: last year’s runner-up, Junior Caminero.

From now through Derby day, The Athletic will update this page with every announced competitor for this year’s competition, plus some need-to-knows, including the updated format and new streaming partner.

When is the Home Run Derby?

The 2026 Home Run Derby will take place on Monday, July 13 at 8 p.m. ET

Where is the Home Run Derby?

Philadelphia’s Citizens Bank Park will play host to All-Star week, including the Home Run Derby.

Where can I watch the Home Run Derby?

For the first time, Netflix will host the annual slugging competition. The streamer had rights to this year’s “Opening Night” between the San Francisco Giants and New York Yankees, and it carried the World Baseball Classic tournament in Japan.

Has the format for the Home Run Derby changed?

Yes, this year’s Derby will look a lot different, and it’s not just because it’ll be on Netflix and not ESPN. This year, the Home Run Derby will ditch the time format that has been in place since 2015. Instead of timed rounds, each of the eight competitors will have a set number of swings: 20 in Round 1, 15 in Round 2 and 15 in the finals.

Each swing, regardless of whether it’s a home run or not, will count against that number. A player who homers on their final swing can continue hacking until he doesn’t get one.

The players with the top four home run totals will move on to the second round, where they will be seeded based on their numbers (No. 1 vs. No. 4, No. 2 vs. No. 3). That will determine the final round.

If there is a tie in the first round, then the longest home run between the two players will serve as the tiebreaker. In the next rounds, ties are broken by a three-swing swing-off.

In essence, the competition will look similar to the classic slugfests that made the Home Run Derby a must-watch event to begin with.