Samson Folk & Mac Cunningham talk about the hottest topic in Raptors land.

From my piece:

“What worked for Barnes:

When it comes to problem solving in the NBA Playoffs, the mid-range is an extremely important release valve. For one, it’s the part of the floor that teams funnel you to when they get beat as they know the numbers and have a reasonable expectation of a loss in points per possession over time. For two, it’s because a lot of players who get funneled middle aren’t great playmakers, and their inability to map the floor out, track their teammates, and playmake them into advantages is typically a true sore spot and stopping point offensively. Anthony Edwards has been stuck in this development for years, for example. Barnes, for all of the things that he doesn’t do relative to other star initiators – he has no problem reading the floor and solving defenses with his big ol’ basketball brain.

Barnes shot 53-percent in the short mid-range against the Cavaliers, a big healthy chunk of innings eating and counter punching against a team that was stuffing the paint with a big front court. Why do I say counter punch? Well, because Barnes’ mid-range shot making, unlike many others, isn’t his most dangerous pursuit from the middle of the floor. In the playoffs, Barnes’ 5.5 rim assists per 100 possessions was the 100th percentile. His 11.1 assist to touch ratio on drives was the highest among high volume drivers in the playoffs. There is nothing more valuable than a shot at the rim, and Barnes was delivering those looks in a greater fashion than any of his peers. Nothing short of wizardry.

The maturation process of Barnes’ game as he’s slowly added skills to his repertoire has advanced enough for him to wield and weaponize his truly transcendent passing acumen against his opponents. So, when it came time, Barnes more than doubled his driving frequency from regular season to playoffs, launched himself in to the top 6 in driving volume in the NBA, and crushed defenses with it.

It’s true that Barnes shot 38-percent on prove me triples against the Cavs, and he of course is a DPOY level talent defensively (but we knew that). However, the thing that changed in the playoffs was the volume and next level decision making as an offensive hub. Creating for others, and for himself (his 63% unassisted buckets were the most for a player categorized as a forward in the playoffs).”

Have a blessed day.

The post Should Scottie Barnes have made All-NBA? first appeared on Raptors Republic.

Could the Raptors add another big in consecutive drafts?

Sam Vecenie of The Athletic recently mocked Kentucky big man Jayden Quaintance to Toronto, and the fit makes a lot of sense.

Outside of Jakob Poeltl, the Raptors do not really have another centre capable of giving them reliable minutes. And Poeltl saw a dip in production last season, appearing in just 46 games while averaging 10.7 points and 7.0 rebounds. And, yes, Collin Murray-Boyles is remarkable, and has found his best moments as a big. But he’s undersized as a big and likely can’t play all his minutes at that position.

Quaintance is one of the more intriguing names in this draft class. The 18-year-old played only four games this season while attempting to return from a torn ACL, but his defensive upside is undeniable.

As a 17-year-old at Arizona State, Quaintance earned Big 12 All-Defensive Team honours after averaging 1.1 steals and 2.6 blocks per game. When healthy, he has all the tools to become a high-level defensive anchor at the next level.

There is definitely risk attached because of the ACL injury, but the upside could make it worth the gamble. Vecenie compared him to Robert Williams III, saying he “would fit nicely with the Raptors’ decision to go all-in on mobile defenders with length and high-level defensive IQ.”

Jeremy Woo of ESPN has also linked several players to Toronto in recent mock drafts. In an earlier mock, Woo had the Raptors selecting Houston centre Chris Cenac during the first round of the draft.

Like Quaintance, Cenac would address Toronto’s need for depth at centre. He comes in with a strong high-school resume and plenty of long-term upside. Woo noted that “his fluidity at his size and flashes of shooting touch set him apart from most of the bigs in this class.”

Cenac would bring a much more explosive and athletic style than Poeltl, and it would be interesting to see how a rim-running big would fit alongside Scottie Barnes in transition and pick-and-roll situations.

Will the Raptors instead add a scoring guard?

Another player Woo connected to Toronto is guard Bennett Stirtz. Woo believes Stirtz “would be an immediate boost to their backcourt as a plug-and-play option, helping improve spacing and giving them another half-court playmaker.”

That fit becomes even more interesting when looking at Immanuel Quickley’s situation. Considering the size of his contract, Quickley has not been consistent enough and has struggled to stay healthy. He didn’t appear in Toronto’s playoff series against the Cleveland Cavaliers.

If the Raptors decide to move on from Quickley at some point, drafting a young floor general like Stirtz could give them a cheaper long-term option in the backcourt.

J. Kyle Mann of The Ringer has Toronto selecting Stanford guard Ebuka Okorie. Mann described Okorie as the type of explosive guard the Raptors have lacked for years.

“Okorie might be the best driver in the class,” Mann wrote, “with unrivaled acceleration and finishing ability around the rim for a player his size.”

He also explained why the fit alongside Toronto’s core pieces makes sense. “Knifing into the heart of the defense is how you maximize a player like Collin Murray-Boyles, who excels in the dunker spot, and how you get the most out of Scottie Barnes attacking downhill against an already collapsed defense. That’s the promise that Okorie offers.”

Okorie averaged an impressive 23.2 points per game at Stanford while shooting 47 percent from the field, with half of his made baskets coming at the rim.

Or do the Raptors want to add another defensive-minded forward?

Steph Noh of Sporting News, has the Raptors selecting Michigans’ Morez Johnson. Noh acknowledges that the Raptors lean heavy on the defensive end of the floor, especially under Darko Rajakovic and he belives Johnson will be able to fit right into their system.

“The versatile forward is tough as nails, and he’s got touch near the tim as a play finisher.

Johnson was great during March Madness. The forward started every game his sophomore season for a 37-3 national champion Michigan team. He averaged 13.1 points, 7.3 rebounds and 1.2 assists in 25.1 minutes per contest.

One of Johnson’s best skills is his knack for rebounding, a department that the 2025-26 Raptors really struggled with. Over his last two games in the tournament alone, he logged 53 minutes and tallied 17 rebounds, nine of which were on the offensive glass.

At the end of the day, whether the team targets a defensive-minded big, an explosive scorer, or a steady playmaker, one thing is for certain: the No. 19 pick will play an important role in shaping the next phase of the franchise.

The Raptors are close, but not there yet, as the playoffs proved. It’s time for them to go for it. This pick needs to be the first step in that direction

The post NBA Draft experts and rumours: Bennett Stirtz leads fits for Raptors first appeared on Raptors Republic.

Congratulations, everyone, tanking is over.

On Thursday, the NBA voted almost unanimously (thanks to the class solidarity of the Memphis Grizzlies) to further flatten the lottery odds, adding two more teams into the mix and creating a relegation zone where the three worst teams in the league would be docked a lottery ball for being bad. This ‘3-2-1’ system, as it’s being called, will make tanking that much harder, but it’ll also create some high-stakes drama at the lottery. Playoff teams now have a chance at the 1st overall pick.

If you want to really nerd out about it, here is the full explanation:

On other platforms, I’ve detailed why I think this new reform is counterintuitive to the NBA draft’s purposes. Here is a video I made for the Athletic explaining my reasoning:

Now, as I say all of this, and while I continue to lament that I think this reform will cause more problems than solve anything, I am, at the very least, intrigued by the ramifications of all of this.

How does this impact how teams scheme throughout a regular season? Do they tank to start and then find themselves in that sweet spot? Will play-in teams now tank for a shot at a pick? This reform is only in effect until 2029. How does that change the value of 1st round picks beyond then? And maybe more importantly, how does it change the value of a draft pick from now until then?

Beyond that, I wonder how this impacts a team like the Toronto Raptors.

Armed with all of their future first-round draft capital, primed to take a leap or make a big swing move and enter perhaps an even more legitimate competitive window, do the Raptors become more conscientious of the precarious position the NBA draft is in over the next few years, or do they use it to their advantage?

It’s worth looking at the history of the front office. Even though this is the first summer with Bobby Webster fully at the helm, he has still been a big part of the Raptors’ decision-making nucleus over the last decade. In that 10-year span, the Raptors have never traded more than one first-round pick in any deal. The most they’ve spent in the last five years has been on Brandon Ingram (one 1st), Jakob Poeltl (one 1st and two 2nds), and Thaddeus Young (one conditional 1st).

This new ‘3-2-1’ reform has inherently increased the value of first-round picks. With flattened odds, more teams believe they have a chance, and so, the value of each of those picks increased by a bunch. So, theoretically, if the Raptors were looking to get off a contract like Poeltl, it might require less pick capital than it did at the deadline. Could the Raptors look to dump him for the cost of just one pick?

One GM told Jake Fischer at the combine that “there is no way” he’s trading any picks passed 2029. Well, what if the Raptors do?

On the opposite end, could the Raptors use their pick capital to take a big swing on a big-time player? Let’s say Donovan Mitchell, Kyrie Irving, or LaMelo Ball become available this summer. Would the Raptors be able to outbid other teams simply by including more pick capital in a timid trade market? One GM told Jake Fischer at the combine that “there is no way” he’s trading any picks passed 2029. Well, what if the Raptors do and outbid everyone? Or, would they be less willing to make a trade now, given that, in this environment, falling out of the playoffs or the play-in in a season you don’t have your pick, would mean potentially gift-wrapping a top-5 pick to another team?

Regardless, this new reform has improved the value of being in the middle of your conference. It’s created flexibility for teams like the Raptors, who may not be contenders yet but are certainly done with tanking and rebuilding. You can be more conservative and have it pay off.

It will be fascinating to see how teams react to this new rule, and, seemingly, we will see its effects in how the Raptors operate starting this summer.

Let’s see how it shakes out.

The post How does the NBA’s lottery reform impact the Toronto Raptors? first appeared on Raptors Republic.

It’s game four of the Toronto Raptors 2026 first round series against the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Raptors are down by one with 49 seconds remaining. Donovan Mitchell brings the ball up the court, hounded by the unrelenting pressure of Scottie Barnes (are we sure he’s not all-defense first team?). The time ticks down, Mitchell has just two seconds to get it across as he nears halfcourt, James Harden sets a pick to help him get across. As Barnes fights to get over, Jamal Shead lurks on the other side. Mitchell moves to cross the halfcourt line, Shead lunges, in one motion diving and tipping the ball loose. Before the ball rolls out of bounds, an 8-second violation is called on the Cavaliers.

” I saw Scottie working, forcing Mitchell to turn a couple of times, and I watched the clock get down to 17, thinking if I could run up there and make something happen, even if he backs up, we could get an eight-second violation, I got a chance to get my hand on it, and it was a really big play, so I showed emotion,”

• Jamal Shead

It’s a microcosm of how Shead has found success in his first two NBA seasons. While he’s never been the tallest, fastest, or most skilled player, you’ll be hard pressed to find someone who plays with Shead’s vigor.

The truth of the matter is that Shead needs that level of intensity to stay on the court right now. In his second NBA season, we have a very good idea of exactly where is strengths and weaknesses lie. He’s a good point of attack defender, he makes life extremely annoying for any ballhandler near him, the Raptors force more turnovers while he’s on the court and amazingly, opposing players shoot 5.1% worse on above-the-break threes. 

Offensively, Shead is a maestro with the basketball, the way he conducts the offense is so incredibly fun to watch. He has a solid assist-to-turnover ratio and his assist-to-usage ratio – which measures how often a player gets an assist given how much they had the ball – is in the 98th percentile according to Cleaning The Glass. One of the best tests for a point guard is how much the head coach trusts them in the big moments, and this season displayed the bond between head coach Darko Rajakovic and Shead. How many games were there this season where things were getting out of control down the stretch, and you look to the scorer’s table and see Shead scampering to check in? 

A coach having that confidence in a sophomore player is rare, and so vastly important in the playoffs in particular. For those that have watched the San Antonio Spurs vs. Oklahoma City Thunder series, you’ll know how tough it’s been for the Spurs and Stephon Castle specifically to keep control of the ball. In the first two games of the series, Castle had the most turnovers in any two-game playoff span since turnovers were first tracked. While yes Castle is a much more talented player overall than Shead, and yes Castle is playing an elite defense while Shead faced the Cavaliers, I use that point to highlight how rare it is for a young guard to take care of the ball like Shead did in his first playoff appearance.

Throughout his career, Shead’s biggest issue has been his scoring – and this shouldn’t be a surprise, he was never an efficient shooter in college (41.2 FG% over four years) – or in his first NBA season (40.5 FG%). What’s most concerning is that he was even worse this year, posting a 36.7 FG%. I truthfully can’t overstate how bad that is, one would be considered a decent three point shooter at that rate, for a field goal rate? That’s abysmal. Steph Curry makes his high difficulty three pointers at a 42.2% rate over his career. It’s bonkers that Shead has been as effective as he has been given how inefficient he is.

Shead is a solid backup point guard, but as he progresses throughout his career, and as the Raptors continue to push to be more competitive year over year, he has to find a way to score more efficiently. We saw the Cavaliers leave him open over and over again, he attempted 5+ threes in six of the seven games, he only did that 16 times in the regular season. The funny thing is, the games where he made them pay, shooting five-for-six in game one and four-for-ten in game five, were both losses for the Raptors.

To find sustained success, to take his game to the next level, Shead needs to improve his touch around the basket. He’s one of the quickest players on the team, he drives the fifth most on the team, but has a lower scoring rate on drives than every single Raptor outside of Chucky Hepburn, Garrett Temple, Mo Bamba, and Markelle Fultz. He is still able to create plays out of those drives – he has the highest pass rate on the team, but if he was a bigger threat to score, his impact would be tenfold.

Draymond Green once said that there are 82 game players, then there are 16-game players. In his second NBA season, one thing became abundantly clear: Shead is a 16-game player. There was a risk that Shead was going to be completely neutralized in the playoffs due to his lack of scoring, instead he proved that he can impact games in the most competitive environments by simply being the most competitive player.

The post Jamal Shead overcame his weaknesses by leaning into his strengths first appeared on Raptors Republic.

Scottie Barnes

Scottie Barnes led the team in votes, just like his versatile game; he was included in a few different categories. We’ll start with the Defensive Player of the Year votes, as he had 15 votes in total, with 12 of them being third-place votes and 3 second-place votes from James Herbert (CBS Sports), Law Murray (The Athletic) and Doug Smith (Toronto Star). Staying on defence, Barnes also got 42 votes for the first NBA All-Defensive team and just six more votes at 48 for the second team. Finally, Scottie also received nine total All-NBA team votes, with all nine being a vote for the third-place team.

Collin Murray-Boyles

After an amazing rookie season, CMB was another Raptor who got a ton of votes, as he only made it on the list for the NBA All-Rookie teams, gaining eight votes for the first team while gaining a whopping 50 votes for the second team.

Sandro Mamukelashvili

Mamu had a successful first season with the Raptors after signing a bargain of a deal, as the newcomer gained three votes for the sixth man of the year award, with all of them being third-place votes from Michael Grange (Sportsnet), Bill Simmons (The Ringer) and Ryan Wolstat (Toronto Sun).

Jamal Shead

Meanwhile, Jamal Shead also qualified for the Sixth Man of the Year award after a rather successful season, with the sophomore point guard gaining just one third-place vote from Tim Bontemps (ESPN).

Brandon Ingram

Brandon Ingram showed up with one vote for the All-NBA third team after his debut season for the Toronto Raptors, where he led the team in scoring, gaining a vote from Maria Taylor (NBA on NBC).

Darko Rajakovic

Last but not least, coach Darko Rajakovic gained a third-place vote from Michael Grange after his first winning season and playoff berth in his three-year stint so far with the Toronto Raptors.

You can check out the full list of votes here.

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The post Which Raptors received votes for the NBA Awards? first appeared on Raptors Republic.

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As pointed out by Rookie Wire, Teams will likely prioritize meeting with “early entrant” prospects and other draft-eligible players before the deadline tomorrow (May 27).

With that in mind, information is starting to come out about where prospects are working out. Let’s take a look at who has worked out for the Raps.

(Workout information provided by Rookie Wire and Hoops Hype.

Who has reportedly visited Toronto for a workout?

Zuby Ejiofor, F, St John’s, Senior (Scheduled)

2025-2026 stats: 16.3 points, 7.3 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 1.2 steals. 2.1 blocks

Measurements: Height without shoes: 6-foot-7 1/2 | Weight: 245lbs | Wingspan: 7-foot-2

Per NBA.com: He moves like a modern big who can defend the point of attack and anchor the paint in the same possession. He stays attached to guards on switches, closes ground on drives with quick recovery and blocks shots at an elite clip. His defence is the main skill that keeps scouts intrigued about him. He is a reliable interior scorer thanks to his hands and footwork, and he is great at drawing fouls. He does have some room to grow in his perimeter shooting, and his volume from deep has already started to increase.

Honestly, bulking up on size is also not a bad idea. He has reliable interior scoring, and his perimeter shooting is improving. If the timeline for his development is right, he could be a good contributor for the Raps, who I could see using him like they did Collin Murray-Boyles.

Bennett Stirtz, G, Iowa, Senior (Scheduled)

2025-2026 stats: 19.8 points, 2.6 rebounds, 4.4 assists, 1.4 steals, 0.2 blocks

Measurements: Height without shoes: 6-foot-2 1/2 | Weight: 186 lbs | Wingspan: 6-foot-6

Per NBA.com: He was a veteran floor general in college, showcasing exceptional pace and an advanced feel for reading defences. He can knock it down from anywhere on the court (huge plus for the Raps), although there are some questions about his finishing at the rim against NBA-level defenders. He has ‘exceptional’ basketball instincts and has played passing lanes well against lesser competition. However, he needs to improve on the defensive side of play.

As mentioned earlier, his knockdown ability is huge for the Raptors, especially considering they are still looking for beyond-the-arc shooting with Gradey Dick likely on the move.

Meleek Thomas, G, Arkansas, Freshman

2025-2026 stats: 15.6 points, 3.8 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.5 steals, 0.2 blocks

Measurements: Height without shoes: 6-foot-3 | Weight: 189 lbs | Wingspan: 6-foot-6 3/4

Per NoCeilings: With the ball taken out of his hands this year due to playing with Darius Acuff Jr., Thomas adapted really well and is widely regarded as a good three-point shooter, especially in terms of catch and shoot. He played the role of a complementary passer this season, with his assists per game getting as high as 2.8 assists per game during conference play and the NCAA Tournament. Thomas also greatly improved on the defensive side of the floor.

I think if Thomas does land in the Raps’ hands, he could be a good shooter that slides right into a team that does need his catch-and-shoot ability.

His catch and shoot ability could be really useful for the Raps, especially if they are looking to add more three point shooting to replace Gradey.

Baba Miller, F, Cincinnati, Senior

2025-2026 stats: 13.0 points, 10.3 rebounds, 3.7 assists, 0.7 steals, 1.2 blocks

Measurements: Height without shoes: 6-foot-10 1/2 | Weight: 208 lbs | Wingspan: 7-foot-1 3/4

Per Sports Illustrated: A versatile winger out of Spain, Miller has a unique skillset that really showed thanks to a massive growth spurt. He was originally a six-foot-two guard, but now he is a six-foot-eleven forward with guard skills. He isn’t a fantastic shooter and did take a bit of a step back compared to when he shot 25% at Florida State in his rookie year and 34.2% last year with Florida Atlantic. He is a versatile defender with the size to guard bigger players but the lateral quickness to play on the perimeter as well.

He could be really good for Toronto as a steady, reliable forward option, and if Poeltl does get moved this summer, adding depth behind Mamu (if he does return that is) could be a smart move.

Tre Carroll, F, Xavier, Senior

2025-2026 stats: 17.8 points, 5.8 rebounds, 2.6 assists,

Measurements: Height without shoes: 6-foot-8 | Weight: 235lbs | Wingspan: 6-foot-11 (Portsmouth Invitational measurement)

Per Ersin Demir: He is a decent lateral athlete, with a surprising amount of vertical pop for his build. His length does increase his value, as he is combining ball skills with physicality on the floor. Carroll has shown that he can defend the pick-and-roll, although he lacks the true burst to defend against smaller, quicker ball handlers. On the offensive side, his value for the NBA comes from his self-creation out of closeouts. He shoots over 50% from midrange and close to 65% at the rim without dunks.

I don’t know if he works for the Raps, given that if he were to come off the bench, he could struggle on defence. His midrange scoring could be useful if he were to sub in for Brandon Ingram.

JVonne Hadley, G, Louisville, Senior

2025-2026 stats: 11.5 points, 5.1 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 1.0 steals, 0.3 blocks

Measurements: Height without shoes: 6-foot-7 | Weight: 210 lbs | Wingspan: 6-foot-8 (Portsmouth Invitational measurement)

Per CardinalSports: he is a unique offensive piece with versatility. Around the rim, Hadley has some old-school flavour to his game, exploiting mismatches in the low-post. His physical frame allows him to seal defenders under the rim, while having a finishing touch to complement. He also has polished footwork, using up-and-unders or drop steps to create finishing angles for himself. His levels of toughness and physicality allow him to defend multiple positions.

He could be a good off-the-bench piece for the Raptors, considering his versatility, especially on the defensive side of the court.

The post Toronto Raptors pre-draft rookie workout tracker: Stirtz, Miller, and more first appeared on Raptors Republic.

Now, an argument could be made that the season Rajaković and the Raptors had was worthy of more than a measly third place vote, but it’s at least some recognition for the team’s success this year.

This past season was Rajaković’s third year in Toronto, and his third year seeing an increase in the win column. When the former Grizzlies’ assistant was hired by the Raptors in 2023, he led the team to just 25 wins, the next year that increased to 30, and this past season the team won 46 games, clinching a playoff spot for the first time in 4 years.

Ian Finlayson wrote about Rajakovic’s mindset heading into the offseason:

It’s safe to say that the past season was a smash hit for Darko Rajakovic, but the third-year head coach isn’t resting on his laurels.

“I have already 40 to 50 percent of my first team meeting ready for next year,” Rajakovic said at his season-end debrief with media on Tuesday. “Probably like two-three months ago I already started planning the summer, started planning the next season. Start making a bunch of notes.”

“That’s (an) ongoing process. That never stops,” he added.

Now that this Raptors team has grown together over the course of a couple seasons to ascend from the depths of the Eastern Conference and begin making a name for themselves, continued improvement both via development and in the standings gets more granular.

But while this was Rajakovic’s first time as a head coach in the playoffs, he doesn’t act like a rookie. Instead of acknowledging the precarious position Toronto sits in between the contenders and pretenders, Rajakovic instead pointed to their continuity as an advantage.

“The difference is continuity of the team, right,” he said. “Having players that are with the team for a stretch of time, so majority of the guys, they already know what the summer looks like for us, what that work looks like.

“We’re going to have a plan for each player, what they need to work on, what they need to improve over the next five-and-a-half months.”

Based on the growth we’ve seen so far, and the mentality the third-year coach has had throughout his short head coaching career, I have a feeling this won’t be the last Coach of the Year vote Rajakovic receives.

The post Raptors’ Darko Rajaković receives Coach of the Year vote first appeared on Raptors Republic.

There are quite a few angles in which to view AJ Lawson’s tenure with the Raptors so far, all of which are positive.  

Starting with his play on the court, a player that was undrafted and signed as a two-way last season getting converted to a standard contract and breaking a playoff rotation is a home run. Not to mention, he’s been a G League All-Star in back-to-back seasons.  

More, it’s a great story. Hometown kid returns to play the best hoops of his career in front of family, friends and a community that rallies around him.  

And then there’s that element. His involvement with the community. The AJ Lawson youth basketball camp that he hosted at the Save Max Sports Centre in Brampton. What seeing Lawson succeed against the odds firsthand does for other kids growing up where he did.  

“It was amazing because I did it in one of the gyms I first started playing indoor basketball in the city — which was the Soccer Centre at the time, Save Max Arena it’s called now — but yeah it was amazing just to have that full-circle moment,” Lawson said after the Raptors 905’s penultimate game of the season. “Seeing the little me in those kids.” 

And Lawson has truly overcome the odds. Of course, anyone who reaches the highest level of basketball on earth does. But in his case, even more so. Out of the roughly 5,000 players in NBA history, less than 30 have come from the Greater Toronto Area and only a few were raised in Brampton, Ont., like Lawson.

Still, he expressed gratitude for his upbringing and how it shaped him as a person.

“It gave that hunger of wanting to make it out, because I feel like not a lot of people did it for my city,” Lawson said. “I feel like the only person at the time was Anthony Bennett and Tristan Thompson, that came out of Brampton, to make it to the league. I wanted to also be one of those faces out of Brampton, out of my city.”

Lawson spoke with immense pride — already nodding his head and cracking a wide smile at its mention — about getting the opportunity to encourage and teach kids from his city that have “the same type of passion and dreams” that he had. An opportunity that he didn’t have, outside of North Pole Hoops camps he went to in high school after he hit his growth spurt and his game began to blossom.

“There wasn’t many camps that I would go to honestly because (our) money situation and just because there wasn’t that much opportunity,” Lawson said.

All these years later, Lawson’s success is no accident. He took an arduous, winding path to make playoff impact back in his hometown, grinding through myriad stops along the way. He acknowledged that after going undrafted in 2021 it was going to be “hard to get an opportunity.” But Lawson never gave up, instead taking the mindset that he was “going to have to work his tail off to get an NBA chance.” It started at Summer League, where brief stints with Miami Heat and Atlanta Hawks eventually earned him an exhibit-10 deal with the College Park Skyhawks. He spent that entire first season in the G League and then later played with the now defunct Guelph Nighthawks of the CEBL the following summer.

Lawson’s game is the product of hard work resulting in incremental growth over time. And it’s been obvious watching him progress in the Raptors organization over the last two seasons how that path has moulded his approach.

When he first arrived with the 905 early in the 2024-25 season, Lawson’s game lacked polish. He succeeded mostly through a whirlwind of athleticism and activity. It led to eye-popping plays as he pounced on steals and was a track star in transition, but he also had his share of blunders.

His defence was particularly hit-and-miss, but since has developed into a strength to the point that the Raptors played him over Jamison Battle at times in the playoffs due to his acumen guarding at the point of attack. He was more likely to keep James Harden in front.

“AJ Lawson, I think he’s one of the best players this past season in the G League in guarding the ball,” Darko Rajaković said at his season-end media availability. “We used him in those moments when we needed extremely high pressure on the ball. I think he did a great job there. Game 6, I believe, he really helped us. We were getting a stop against Dennis Schroder in full court, coming out with a steal. That ended up helping us win the game.”

Raptors 905 head coach Drew Jones often spoke about challenging Lawson to step up his game defensively and effusively praised him for his growth on that end.

This same work ethic has also resulted in a notable improvement in Lawson’s shooting. He shot between 31-33 percent over his first few seasons in the G, and is at 33.9 percent in his brief NBA career, and those numbers skyrocketed this season. Up to 37.1 percent in the G League on the highest volume of his career (7.9 attempts per game) and a robust 42.2 percent with the Raptors.

From what I saw covering the 905, Lawson was relentless working on his shot before games. And that work showed up as his mechanics appeared a little simpler and smoother. His ability to stay steady and balanced while shooting off movement has appeared to progressively improve over the last two seasons, too.

For the numbers, Lawson finished averaging 21.5 points on 63 percent true shooting, a six percent jump from the previous season, to go along with 4.9 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.4 steals over 37 games for the 905. This earned him All-NBA G League Second Team honours to go along with his second-straight Next Up game appearance.

At the NBA level it was only 4.2 points (58.8 percent true shooting) and 1.8 rebounds on limited minutes, but he did average 8.6 points and over one steal over the final 10 games of the season, including back-to-back double digit scoring efforts against the Orlando Magic and Detroit Pistons.

Lawson’s always made a living off his live-wire scoring and athleticism but that coupled with the development of harder shooting and guarding skills has transformed him into a sneaky valuable player.

Add that he’s beloved by the community and really relishes the opportunity to play in front of his hometown, and he’s an easy player to get behind. One moment from the third game of the G League season stood out to me in particular, this is what I wrote then:

Lawson anticipated a pass from one Maine Celtics guard to the other just over halfcourt, nabbed it, ran out, completed the pick-six by throwing down a forceful one-handed hammer and proceeded to emphatically high-five a young fan in the front row.

“If I was that kid in that situation and I see a dunk, I would want some love too,” said Lawson after the resounding win. “I saw him right there, he was hyping me up, so I was like ‘get some love.’”

At the start of the season, Lawson was behind Ochai Agbaji, Gradey Dick, Ja’Kobe Walter, Battle, and arguably Alijah Martin in the bench guard/wing rotation. Not to mention the starters ahead of that group. He didn’t make his first NBA appearance of the season until the Raptors’ 25th game of the season, and appeared in only five games over the first half of the season.

While he was a superstar in the G League, he wasn’t a significant part of the Raptors’ plans. A contingency for a contingency. Yet his impact on the court was undeniable. He was a pest to opposing ball handlers. He always found a way to score the basketball. All the way up until he banged two crucial third-quarter triples in the Raptors’ miracle Game 6 win over Cleveland.

“That’s probably my motto right there. Beat the odds,” Lawson said. “I like to beat the odds. I want to show myself and everybody else that I can do something.” 

The post How AJ Lawson overcame the odds and came ‘full circle’ first appeared on Raptors Republic.

Ja’Kobe Walter didn’t open the Toronto Raptors’ regular season as a member of the rotation. He didn’t appear in an actual game until Game Four, when he played a meager 10 minutes and attempted two shots. He simply wasn’t a priority entering the season, with players like Gradey Dick and even Ochai Agbaji being given the lion’s share of wing minutes off the bench in the early stretch of the season.

By the playoffs, Walter was Toronto’s best and most featured shooter, the team’s best (or close to it) perimeter defender, and a mainstay in the rotation, averaging 39 minutes and 10 attempted triples per game over the final three contests.

What happened in between was one of the best development stories of the Raptors’ 2025-26 season — and, in truth, of the franchise’s recent history. It was a tale of one big win unlocking and catalyzing a number of smaller ones.

On January 11, Walter left a game after suffering a hip pointer injury. He had been … fine to that point in the season. Perhaps better than fine, bordering on promising. But he was attempting a modest 3.2 triples per game — far from enough — and shooting only 36.7 percent from deep. He lost his minutes to that point by more than 100 points.

Walter missed about two weeks with his injury. When he returned, he had evolved into a new version of himself. From Charmander to Charmeleon. It took him a few more weeks to get his legs (and hips) back under him, but from March onward he basically didn’t miss. When the dust settled, Walter shot 44.3 percent from deep from his return from that hip pointer injury until the end of the regular season, and on more attempts to boot. He won his minutes by more than 100 points.

Too much analysis in the NBA is about 3-point shooting.. Sometimes, though, it is just as important as surface-level understanding makes it out to be.

Because yes, Walter was hitting more jumpers. He hunted them better, used smoother footwork into his jumpers, chased empty space behind the arc, shower better readiness before the ball hit his hands. All that was good. But the even more impactful elements derived as downstream effects from Walter’s shooting. He started getting chased off the line, and he used those moments to expand his capacity for scoring and creation.

In one otherwise boring, ho-hum game, Walter showed some live-dribble creation that he hadn’t really flashed at any point in his career to that point. At another point, Walter ascended to one of the primary needle-movers on his entire team. In fact, here’s what I wrote in one of the last regular season games of the season:

But meanwhile, there’s something real happening beneath the surface for Toronto. In Toronto’s two-game homestand against the Miami Heat, Murray-Boyles defined the team and its identity with grinding physicality. Now Walter stepped into the position of quietly perfect role player.

In the second quarter, Walter is in the dunker spot, and Sandro Mamukelashvili drives towards him. There are two defenders waiting for him – his own, and Walter’s. So Walter sprints into the corner, pulling both defenders out of Mamukelashvili’s way, opening a relatively uncontested layup. This is what respect looks like — layups for teammates. 

He opens the third by recognizing his defender overplaying him as he waddled towards a ball screen, so he jets backdoor, catches the ball, and draws free throws. That’s activity with intention. He hits a few more triples in the second half, setting plenty of ball screens as Toronto tried to jump-start its offence. After he hits a straightaway triple midway through the fourth quarter, his 15 points are at that point a team-high.

Walter averaged more free throws, more 2-pointers, more assists in the back half of the season. His enormous gains as a shooter led to small gains everywhere else.

And by the playoffs, Walter became a lifeline for a team that would have otherwise found itself underwater. Part of that was because the Raptors were missing shooters in Immanuel Quickley and eventually Brandon Ingram. But Walter was thrown into the deep end without a life preserver, and he found that he was quite a capable swimmer. He led the team in 3-point attempts. He guarded Donovan Mitchell with vigor, actually bothering him at times.

Walter’s defence improved this season, too. He was already a strong defender in his rookie season, but he was not without his weaknesses. This season, he was better at forcing turnovers, even becoming such a ball-hawk that the mere attempt of opposing role players to bring the ball up the court against him was an insult so severe that he simply had to take their cookies in recompense. He was much better navigating screens. He started at a much higher place on the defensive end than the offensive end entering his sophomore year, thus he improved by a much wider margin offensively as a result.

Add it all together, and Walter has made himself into an integral building block of the Raptors’ future. Perhaps one of the three core future-oriented players, alongside Collin Murray-Boyles and of course Scottie Barnes. Walter is a defence-first player who spreads the floor on offence but is much more than the 3-and-D wing of the 2010s. He is a nifty screener on the ball. He cuts well. He has improved as a finisher and a passer. He has made himself versatile on both ends of the floor. As a result, he will of course be a a plug-in shooting guard, but he doesn’t limit team building in any way whatsoever. He fits alongside virtually any player, any archetype, and theorycrafting of an NBA team.

Not a bad outcome for a player who started on the outside of Toronto’s rotation to start the season. Only 21 years old, Walter has so much time left before he becomes the finished product of himself. The Raptors have to hope there is an evolution yet to come — perhaps, if all breaks right, into Charizard.

The thing that is most promising for Walter is that his next evolution could come in so many different directions. Perhaps he levels up yet again as a shooter, as an off-ball mover, as a ghost screener, as a floor spacer. He could add primary creation to his game — he was a primary in college, after all. He could add strength and bulk and become a defender who forces far more turnovers, as he did in the playoffs against Cleveland. The greatest compliment to Walter’s present is that the benefits of his future have ballooned to unknowability.

The post How Ja’Kobe Walter’s evolution in 2025-26 cultivates the future for the Raptors first appeared on Raptors Republic.

Barnes came out of the gate with one of his two months of averaging more than 20 points per game in October, and also shot an elite 50 percent from beyond the arc. He didn’t get remotely close to that again, and many knew it was just a hot shooting start for Scottie, but still, it was encouraging to see Barnes shoot the three so well, as it’s one area of his offence that wasn’t so great coming into this season.

He made his second All-Star appearance this year, along with teammate Brandon Ingram and had a moment during the game when he nailed a game-winning three-pointer.

He also won Eastern Conference Defensive Player of the Month for October/November, becoming the first Raptor ever to win the award, which was introduced before the 2024/25 season. He also came away with Eastern Conference Player of the Week for Week 12 of the regular season, another feat that Brandon Ingram also achieved this season.

Some fans are probably expecting him to be named to an All-NBA team after the success he achieved this season, with awards starting to be handed out in the coming weeks. Barnes just got named to the All-Defensive second team, and many were expecting a first-team appearance after the year and success that he had. He led the league for most of the season for total stocks (steals and blocks), but ultimately lost out on that record to the 7-foot-4 Victor Wembanyama.

For the season, Barnes averaged 18.1 points, 7.5 rebounds and 5.9 assists per game. His points average is the third highest output of his 5-year career, while the rebounds are also tied for the third highest, and his assists average is his second best so far. He shot above 30 percent from beyond the three-point line for the third time in his career, while shooting above 80 percent from the free throw line for just the first time in his career, and also shooting above 50 percent from the field for the first time. He tied career highs of 1.5 blocks and 1.4 steals per game, and also had his healthiest season so far, playing 80 games and averaging 33.5 minutes per game.

Some of his memorable moments in the regular season were the game-saving block against the Charlotte Hornets during the nine-game win streak at the start of the season, along with a massive triple-double performance against the Golden State Warriors to cap off a huge comeback win in overtime.

In this Warriors game, he had an insane stat line of 23 points, a career high of 25 rebounds and 10 assists, good enough for one of his three triple-double performances in the season.

And who can forget yet another defensive play on the road against the defending champs, who are still in the playoffs and are now just two games away from making it back-to-back finals. This was also a huge win in terms of giving the fan base hope due to how bad their record was against winning teams across the league.

Now for the most important and impressive part, the playoffs. Scottie was hands down Toronto’s most impressive and consistent player in the postseason, just inching out Collin Murray-Boyles and RJ Barrett in my opinion. He shot over 50 percent from the field, 38.1 percent from beyond the arc, 24.1 points, 6.1 rebounds, 8.6 assists, while adding 1.7 blocks and 1.1 steals per game on the defensive side. A massive leap in more than a few categories from the regular season, most notably the points, assists and three-point percentage and even marginal improvements in field goal percentage, blocks.

He didn’t have a crazy highlight like RJ Barrett’s game six winner or Jamal Shead’s heroic stop in game 4 to win an eight-second count; however, he was the one who picked up Donovan Mitchell full court in the same Jamal Shead play.

That, along with this massive dunk on Jarrett Allen plus the back-to-back blocks in game five, are probably three of his most memorable plays from the playoffs.

The fact that most of his memorable plays are on defence says a lot about Scottie Barnes as a player. Sure, many fans today love a player who can create their own shot and dunk on opponents to create highlight plays, but having a player capable of doing it on both ends is crucial in today’s NBA, given how good players are offensively.

In the end, with a new top-scoring option arriving at the team, Scottie had to take a back seat after being the focal point of Toronto’s offence just a season prior. He even averaged fewer shot attempts than Brandon Ingram and RJ Barrett, but I’m sure Barnes doesn’t care too much about that, as he is a great teammate and a selfless player, with how much he likes to pass and get his teammates involved in the offence. Another All-Star appearance, a first appearance for an All-Defensive team and falling just one game short of advancing in the playoffs against a team that is now playing in the Eastern Conference finals, I think it’s safe to say Scottie Barnes had a successful year and maybe even his most successful year up to this point with how much awareness he has brought to his game from outside fanbases and media members.

The post Scottie Barnes rose to the occasion first appeared on Raptors Republic.

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