Don’t blink, before you know it, NBA Opening Night will be right around the corner.

Consider this the official welcome back article of the 2025-26 NBA season.

This year, we’re going to run it back with a similar content mix.

Expect the same sprinkle of futures, nightly bets, and overall thoughts on the betting opportunities I see throughout the season.

If you’re a regular of this article, you’ll recall some key winners given last year.

We flagged Shai Gilgeous-Alexander as the MVP when he was +350 in December.

Stephon Castle for Rookie of the Year was spotlighted at +1000.

The Houston Rockets were regularly featured throughout this column starting with a hard pitch preseason to clear 43.5 wins.

But as on-brand as it can get, this article will open 2025-26 focusing on the Toronto Raptors – a team coming in with legitimate expectations for the first time since head coach Darko Rajakovic took over.

Last season was as unlucky a year as you can ask for.

We didn’t know what nights players would sit, injuries were popping up left, right and centre, and the team was blatantly benching starters in fourth quarters to intentionally tank.

This year, motivations seem much clearer.

The 2025-26 Raptors are here to win now.

With a weakened Eastern Conference, Toronto has a good chance to be one of the top risers year-over-year.

When win totals were first released by FanDuel, the Raptors sat at 33.5.

If you hop on the app now, you’ll see their line pumped up to 38.5.

The market seems to believe in their ascension; FanDuel’s traders do too.

Here are the three main futures worth investing in for the 2025-26 Raptors.

Toronto Raptors To Make Playoffs (+102)

This bet stems from two main arguments.

Number one, the Toronto roster top to bottom, is significantly more talented than the one from 2024-25.

Number two, a host of teams in the same win total range have major question marks with no clear answers.

For starters, Toronto’s 30-52 record from last year is a convoluted reflection of their actual level of play.

None of their core starters played more than 65 games (the floor for NBA award eligibility).

Last season’s big three of Scottie Barnes, Immanuel Quickley, and RJ Barrett shared the court just 16 games all year.

They had a 7-26 stretch when at least one of those three players were out between October and January.

But outside of their injury luck, the Raptors are getting a major talent bump with the addition of Brandon Ingram.

As BI has said himself in interviews, he’s definitely getting slept on after battling through some rough seasons in New Orleans.

Once the Pelicans handed the keys to Zion Williamson, BI was asked to play more of a secondary role while still scoring 20 or more points for six straight seasons.

His ceiling for scoring was certainly higher, but he wasn’t the franchise’s focus.

As a veteran arriving in Toronto, he brings some isolation scoring punch that didn’t exist last year.

The Raptors were 10-22 in games requiring clutch time, the second-worst winning percentage in the league.

BI will change that.

To my second point above, the Sixers, Bucks, and Celtics are all teams that sit just above Toronto in expected wins.

From both an experience and superstar perspective, all three deservedly rank above Toronto.

What’s different this year versus others is the drop-off in depth compared to the Raps.

Starting with Philadelphia, they come in with very ambiguous injury circumstances for two of their three stars – Joel Embiid and Paul George.

Both players project to be sidelined to open the season – a bad omen for two players that took the court just 19 and 41 times respectively.

Add in the fact, last year’s ROTY hopeful, Jared McCain, will miss the first month of the season, Philly comes out of the gate looking closer to their 24-58 form than a championship contender.

Moving on to Milwaukee, Giannis Antetokounmpo might be in line for an MVP-calibre season, but a championship season seems so far away.

What kind of impact on winning will Kevin Porter Jr., Gary Trent Jr., and Kyle Kuzma have?

Myles Turner is an upgrade on 37-year-old, Brook Lopez, but how much will he move the needle for a Bucks team that seems destined to finish as a bottom-half defence?

Last but not least is the Celtics.

All the credit to this organization, one that won 61 games last year. Unfortunately, they got dealt a cold deck.

I firmly believe at full strength, they had the tools to overcome the Oklahoma City Thunder.

But fast forward to their current roster, half of their rotation players from last season won’t be present on Opening Night.

Jayson Tatum is likely out for the season.

Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis were shipped off while Al Horford departed via free agency.

The Celtics didn’t just fail to fill the gaps for those players, they are intentionally skirting the apron to avoid triggering the repeater tax.

All their front office actions suggest they’re building for the season Tatum returns.

The brand names carry weight for these three teams, but none have the depth like Toronto.

I’m betting on the Raps to scrap for wins throughout the regular season more than these three.

Scottie Barnes To Average 6+ Assists Per Game (+155)

Of all ‘season average’ bets available on FanDuel for Toronto players, this is the one I flag with flashing red lights.

At the core of this bet, it’s my belief that Scottie’s greatest strength on offence is his playmaking.

He has the vision, size, and willingness to toss creative passes that few in the league can.

Banking on better health for Barrett and Quickley, the addition of BI gives Scottie an additional scoring outlet he’s never had in his career.

Barnes is naturally an unselfish player, and I’m expecting his passing abilities to shine brightest above all else offensively.

Last season, he was clearly forcing shots in the half-court almost like he was experimenting in live regular season games.

Even on career-low minutes and career-high shot volume, he came just under this line at 5.8 apg in 2024-25.

In the year prior, he finished at 6.1.

Head coach Rajakovic had the team finish with the second-highest assist rate in the NBA last year.

I’m willing to bet Scottie’s role this season evolves from being their primary scorer to their offensive conductor.

Darko Rajakovic To Win Coach of the Year (+2000)

I wanted to offer one award-based future for Toronto in this article.

Quite frankly, this is the only one that has a legitimate shot.

Feel free to bet anyone for MVP, DPOY, and 6MOY, but I don’t think Toronto has a true contender for any.

Coach of the Year is always a wide-open race considering the track record of past winners.

Traditionally, this award is all about team success; who overachieved most compared to their preseason expectations.

Last year’s winner, Kenny Atkinson, took a near-identical roster from 48 wins to an Eastern Conference-best 64.

Two seasons ago, Mark Daigneault led OKC to a 17-win jump.

Am I saying the Raptors are primed for a 47-35 season? No.

But with their win total projected for 38.5, they’re already halfway to 17.

So much has to go right for Toronto to reach the ceilings like an OKC or Cleveland, but the circumstances around them in the East might give them a lift.

I have a lot of confidence in the Raptors’ v2.0 Bench Mob and believe they could be critical to Toronto’s leap this season.

That bench unit was greatly responsible for Toronto’s second-ranked defence after the All-Star Break last year.

If they are able to bring a similar level of compete this season, it won’t just impact their wins, it will shine a light on Rajakovic, who was brought in as a development coach.

I think he’ll be given a lot of credit for the team’s organic growth.

On FanDuel, you currently get +300 if Toronto wins 45+ games.

I’d much rather throw a dart on Rajakovic at +2000 if you believe in the Toronto glow up this year.