The 2018-2019 NBA season ended with a Finals victory for the Toronto Raptors, led by Kawhi Leonard and breakout star Pascal Siakam, who emerged during his third NBA season into a complete power forward for the Raptors, capable of both scoring at a high clip (17 ppg) and excelling on defense (104.2 NET Defensive Rating). Siakam’s 2017-18 season saw him come off the bench, contributing 7.3 points per game while playing behind starting power forward Serge Ibaka. His contributions placed him sixth on the Raptors in scoring, with other box score statistics such as assists and rebounds reflecting this role on the team.
       Towards the end of the 2017-18 season, Serge Ibaka’s offensive struggles led to his demotion to the second unit and the occasional promotion of Siakam to the starting five. In his new role, Siakam excelled, posting a NET RATING of over 9 in the months of February and March. NET RATING provides a metric to gauge a players’ impact both offensive and defensively, measuring the difference between a players’ offensive and defensive efficiency. In order to produce such a high number, Siakam had to demonstrate proficiency as a scorer and passer along with success on the defensive end of the court. Throughout the remainder of the 2017-18 season, Siakam continued to play a crucial role in the Raptors’ protection of the No. 1 seed in the East, although his post-season struggles led to a downtick in playing time during the first two rounds of the playoffs.

(Breakdown of Raptors 2017-18, with players’ share of total points represented as bubbles) [Pascal Siakam shown in black, all other Raptors players shown in red]

       Coming into the 2018-19 season, Siakam had impressed new Raptors coach Nick Nurse enough to earn a spot in the starting lineup, a spot which he kept for a remainder of the season. In his new permanent role, Siakam solidified himself as one of the most reliable power forwards in the NBA, posting the second-highest scoring total on the team, with 16.9 points per game. Additionally, Siakam proved himself to be a more than capable passer and defender, providing the Raptors with a trio of stars in Siakam, Kyle Lowry, and Kawhi Leonard. During the 2018-19 NBA season, Siakam posted a higher NET RTG in every month, with the exception of February, than in his previous NBA season, demonstrating that his newfound success was no fluke, and reflected his development both offensively and defensively.

(Pascal Siakam NET RATING broken down by month) [Red depicts 2018-19 NBA season, while black shows 2017-18 NBA season]

       By the conclusion of the 2018-19 season, Siakam improved his NET RATING by almost two points, beating out two-way star Kawhi Leonard’s NET RATING by a considerable margin of three points. Additionally, Siakam’s scoring output trailed only Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard, as he beat out established stars such as point guard Kyle Lowry in his contributions to the Raptors points total. To go along with Siakam’s statistical emergence, he earned the NBA’s Most Improved Player Award, which rewards a player who has shown the greatest progress throughout the NBA’s regular season.

(Breakdown of Raptors 2018-19, with players’ share of total points represented as bubbles) [Pascal Siakam shown in black, all other Raptors players shown in red]

       The rapid rise of Pascal Siakam from being a steady bench player on the Raptors’ 2017-18 team to a star on the 2018-19 Finals winning team came in large part due to two factors, the debut of new head coach Nick Nurse, who revamped the Raptors’ roster and offensive style, and Siakam’s own offensive and defensive development, as he improved both his post scoring and 3 points shooting abilities. The arrival of Nick Nurse brought a fresh perspective on the Raptors’ roster, as Nurse was willing to bench a tremendously overpaid player in Serge Ibaka in favor of a younger developing star, a move that previous coach Dwayne Casey was unwilling to definitively make.
       Additionally, Siakam was able to achieve a more consistent level of play in the 2018-19 season, as he earned a roughly 14 NET RATING during every month of his breakout season, with the exception of December and January, where his NET RATING dropped to 4 and 6, respectively. Such consistent play, along with a high level of durability allowed Siakam to play during 80 games during the Raptors championship season, a total that tied a team-high and stood far above other stars such as Lowry and Leonard who played in only 60 games.

(Pascal Siakam NET RATING broken down by season, compared with Kawhi Leonard’s 2018-19 season to provide context of the NET RATING of an “Elite” Player) [Red depicts Pascal Siakam’s 2017-18 and 2018-19 seasons, while black shows Kawhi Leonard’s 2018-19 NBA season]

       Without the evolution of Pascal Siakam, the Raptors would have been a significantly different team, as Siakam provided a stabilizing force for Toronto, allowing them to achieve a No. 2 seed during the regular season, and eventually win the NBA Finals. Undoubtedly, Siakam’s high level of play was a crucial factor in upset playoff victories against the Milwaukee Bucks and Golden State Warriors during the last two rounds of the NBA playoffs, making Siakam’s evolution between his second and third NBA seasons one of the most remarkable in recent memory.