It would be perfectly natural for all but diehard fans to not be completely up to speed with the Toronto Raptors, who begin the 2025-26 season with media day on Monday morning.
A two-year, accelerated rebuild that resulted in 25- and 30-win seasons and precious little buzz — aside from the 30th-season celebrations, which included the retirement of Vince Carter’s No. 15 jersey — has put Canada’s only NBA franchise a bit out of sight and out of mind for many sports fans.
Which makes now the perfect time for a refresher:
THE CORE
SCOTTIE BARNES: The face of the franchise is about to embark on his fifth season in Toronto. He’s a one-time all-star and a former rookie of the year with eyes on a spot on an all-defensive team, which he definitely has the talent to earn.
The all-around forward has yet to average 20 points a game though, and shot a career-worst 27.1% on three-pointers in 2024-25. Pascal Siakam and Chris Bosh were both all-NBA players by Year 4, Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan, though older than Barnes (especially in Lowry’s case), really started asserting themselves in their fourth or fifth seasons with the Raptors.
To get where the Raptors want to go, Barnes needs to make another leap at some point.
Key stat: 0 — The number of players averaging at least four three-point attempts per game with a lower shooting percentage than Barnes. Interestingly, rookie of the year Stephon Castle was second-lowest at 28.5% and Barnes’ classmate Franz Wagner wasn’t far off at 29.5% and former NBA MVP Joel Embiid hit only 29.9% of his attempts in 19 games.
BRANDON INGRAM: He is the big addition. The former No. 2 overall pick is one of the most gifted scorers the Raptors have ever employed and if he keeps up his increased three-point rate (over six attempts per game last year) it should bode well for one of the league’s worst shooting teams.
We’re less concerned about questions of how Ingram fits with this group than if he can stay on the court. He’s averaged 5.5 assists in recent years and isn’t a black hole on offence
Key stat: 45.5 — The number of games Ingram has averaged the past four seasons after playing in 61 of 72 in 2020-21.
IMMANUEL QUICKLEY: Playing only 33 games due to a couple of injuries really took the sails out of Toronto’s season. The Raptors didn’t (and still don’t) have anyone else on the roster like the former sixth man of the year runner-up.
He’s had an 18-assist game as a Raptor, meaning he has point guard chops, but is also an elite outside shooter. The trick will be getting Quickley to let it fly. Maybe not the nine-plus threes Fred VanVleet was launching, but more than the career-high 6.8 Quickley got up last year.
Key stat: 38.7% — The number of pull-up three-point attempts Quickley hit in his brief season. Only three players with at least 2.4 such attempts per game hit at a higher rate.
JAKOB POELTL: The veteran centre is a massive part of this group. He anchors the defence, is strong on the glass and can facilitate a bit or be a scoring outlet inside. Poeltl will turn 30 just before the season starts and was rewarded with a reasonable contract extension. There is no viable option at centre behind him, so again, he is a crucial piece of the puzzle. Playing a new high of 29.6 minutes a game, Poeltl didn’t look quite as good defensively as he has in the past, but we’d expect a return to form from a player eager to taste the playoffs again.
Key stat: 42.9% — Toronto’s winning percentage when Poeltl has been in the lineup (133 games) since being reacquired from San Antonio, vs. 34.5% of the time (113 games) without him.
RJ BARRETT: Barrett led the Raptors in scoring each of the last two seasons, though you wouldn’t know it from the way most talk about him. The Mississauga product and national team stalwart seems to generate more chatter about his future (he has two years left on his contract and has been the subject of trade rumours) instead of the present.
The arrival of Ingram, coupled with Ingram’s big contract extension has muddied the waters when it comes to Barrett, who made needed defensive strides and will need to continue them. He’s only 25, is clearly talented with many strengths, but shot only 63% from the free throw line and had one of the most notable home/road stat discrepancies in the NBA (23.4 points on 50.2% shooting at home, 18.8 on 43.2% away).
Key stat: 7.7 — Shot attempts per game from less than five feet away. Only four players averaged more and they are all big men (think Giannis). Barrett can improve on his finishing there, though (58%, 10% less than countryman and league MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, but still decent).
THE ROOKIE
COLLIN MURRAY-BOYLES: Billed as the best off-ball defender in his draft class by ESPN, Murray-Boyles is far more advanced than 99% of first-year players at that end of the floor. That should get him playing time immediately. Shooting will determine his upside and if he’ll be a key reserve, solid starter or something more down the line.
Key stat: 4 — Categories Murray-Boyles led his NCAA team in (points, rebounds, steals, blocks, and was second in assists).
THE REST
Toronto is pretty deep for a team projected to win fewer than 40 games. Gradey Dick, entering his third season, sophomore Ja’Kobe Walter and Ochai Agbaji, who broke out in Year 3 as a defender who could also knock down three-pointers, will battle for wing minutes behind Barrett and Ingram.
General manager Bobby Webster said Friday that Dick has gotten bigger and stronger again, but needs to show consistency. He had a strong start to last season before all but falling off the map.
Walter showed some flashes over the final month, while Agbaji, a former NCAA champion and Final Four Most Outstanding Player, finally established himself in the NBA but could be squeezed out due to the team’s salary cap situation (slightly into the luxury tax, but with the entire season to get back under it).
Jamal Shead projects as Quickley’s primary backup, Sandro Mamukelashvili, a free agent pickup who can stretch the floor and rebound, will back up Poeltl and perhaps also spend some time at power forward. Murray-Boyles will factor in as well.
That’s 11 players and most likely only nine will play regularly, barring injuries. As Webster said, competition should be good for these Raptors.
The roster also includes 16-year veteran Garrett Temple, Canadian A.J. Lawson, young centre prospect Ulrich Chomche, sophomore shooter Jamison Battle and some prospects trying to make the club who might be slated for Raptors 905.
THE COACH: It’s Year 3 for Darko Rajakovic. He’s done well developing several young Raptors, but this will be the first season with expectations of winning games. Victory a third of the time, as has been the case over Rajakovic’s first two years, will no longer be acceptable (even if progress will still also be measured in the kids taking steps forward on the court).