Toronto Raptors' NBA title odds jump following Kawhi Leonard trade

Despite winning 46 games last season and taking the Cleveland Cavaliers to Game 7 in the first round of the NBA playoffs, the Toronto Raptors were still considered a long shot to contend for a championship this year.

Then they landed Kawhi Leonard.

The acquisition of the two-time NBA Finals MVP has vaulted the Raptors' title odds by 75 per cent, taking the team straight from pretenders to contenders.

According to FanDuel, the Toronto Raptors have the sixth-best odds to win the NBA title next season at 22/1, and the fourth-best odds in the Eastern Conference.

The Raptors acquired Leonard in exchange for Brandon Ingram, Gradey Dick, and four future draft picks. (Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Imagn Images)

Before the Raptors made the June 30 trade with the Los Angeles Clippers for Kawhi, Toronto was considered by oddsmakers as a huge long shot to win an NBA title at 100/1.

The only teams in the East with better odds are the defending champion New York Knicks (10/1), the now LeBron James-led Philadelphia 76ers (10/1), and the Boston Celtics (15/1).

The Detroit Pistons are the only team to have the same odds as the Raptors at 22/1 — a team that finished at the top of the Eastern Conference last season. That has to mean something for Raptors fans.

Toronto finished fifth in the Eastern Conference last season, with a record of 46 wins and 36 losses. It was the Raptors' first 45-plus-win season since 2021-22, when the team won a total of 48 games.

As odds go, 22 to 1 is still considered to be quite long, but it's a significant jump that now puts the Raptors firmly in the playoff contender conversation in the Eastern Conference.

Toronto Raptors Futures Odds Movement @DKSports

Pre-Trade: +3500
Now: +2500

Conference Winner
Pre-Trade: +1400
Now: +900 pic.twitter.com/6pduSdIL5g

— DK Insights (@DKInsights_) June 30, 2026

The Oklahoma City Thunder have the best odds to win the NBA Finals this season at +240 (12/5). If OKC were to win, it would be the team's second title in the last three years.