Last Updated on May 28, 2026 11:48 am by Mike Passador | Published: May 28, 2026

The Raptors appeared destined for the league’s mushy middle with a roster that had all kinds of fit questions. Beyond that, the team had pretty much everyone up for evaluation. How good could Scottie Barnes be? Would Brandon Ingram live up to his new contract, which has handed out sight unseen? Is Darko Rajakovic the guy to lead this team forward? Is RJ Barrett part of the answer or just a tradeable contract? The talent was there but whether or not it would come together was the overarching theme of Toronto’s season — everyone knew what the Raptors were missing, but what did they actually have?

How’d It Go?

A first-round series defeat doesn’t sound all that great but the Raptors learned quite a bit about themselves and put up a great fight. They surpassed all reasonable expectations and found out which players are legitimate building blocks. A lot of the preseason calls about what the team lacked were correct and proved to be their ultimate downfall, but the Raptors punched above their weight given the general lack of shooting, guard depth and even center play. So while they did bow out without winning a playoff round, how they got there represented a positive step for the organization.

The Raptors did the bulk of their shopping last season in trading for Brandon Ingram and signing him to a three-year contract extension. Barring a big trade involving a rotation player, the team had to roll around in the bargain bin. They signed Sandro Mamukelashvili to round out the frontcourt and added promising rookie defender Collin Murray-Boyles in the draft. The Raptors didn’t address their two big needs of additional shooting or more guards, but had a pretty deep roster to work with.

A 1-4 start tempered expectations a bit but the Raptors capitalized on a pillow-soft schedule to put themselves in the playoff chase for the long haul. They won 13 of their next 14 games and never looked back, remaining at least four games above .500 for the rest of the season. Ingram stayed healthy and the organization made a concerted effort to make him feel like a king, and he ended up being named to the All-Star team. While his methodical style of play runs against the grain of the rest of the squad’s quick-hitting ways, it was a breath of fresh air for the Raptors to have a guy who could get the ball up top and work his way into a bucket when they needed one. Getting Ingram connected with the rest of the squad was an ongoing task but even on a bit of an island, it was easy to see why the Raptors traded for him at a low point.

It wasn’t all roses despite the team making a clear case for a playoff spot. Jakob Poeltl picked up a back injury in training camp and was never at full strength. He followed up his career year with a tough season that saw him miss 23 games in a row as the Raptors tried to manage his back. Limited minutes wasn’t doing the trick and he had to be handled cautiously all season, showing only glimpses of his peak. Immanuel Quickley was tasked with the starting PG job and made some strides, though that is definitely not the role that will maximize his game going forward. Quickley had a good season but his decision-making left a lot to be desired, especially early in the campaign. Gradey Dick saw his 3-point shooting fall for the second straight season and ended the year out of the rotation. The season-long trend was that the Raptors could demolish bad teams and fight with good ones, but could not hold a candle to the true upper class. Lackluster PG play, questionable shooting and missing your starting center will do that.

On the positive side, Scottie Barnes became an all-world defender. Freed up from primary offensive duties, Barnes was slotted into an optimal role and got his points more efficiently when he wasn’t wrecking the game on defense. Mamukelashvili had a career year, with shooting and energy that proved vital amid Poeltl’s absences. Murray-Boyles battled injuries on and off all year but was a coach’s dream when available; he could guard just about anyone and showed a great knack for finding the ball to make timely plays. Ja’Kobe Walter became a solid 3-and-D wing over time, while RJ Barrett continued to thrive in Toronto’s offense. Last but not least, the Raptors made their return to the playoffs, locking up the 5th seed in a season where they were forecast as a Play-In team at best.

The Raptors weren’t weighed down by expectation in the playoffs but got to learn a lot about their roster in a close seven-game loss. Barnes was dynamite, impacting the game on both ends of the floor and overpowering the Cavs with his strength and length throughout. It was an emphatic arrival in the spotlight for a player who gets ignored in big media conversations. Barrett was also solid, providing reliable scoring and a miracle 3-pointer in a Game 6 win in front of the home fans. Murray-Boyles was a true standout, playing great defense all over the court and giving the Raptors plenty of extra edges with his work on the offensive glass and ability to create havoc. Unfortunately Quickley missed the entire series with a hamstring injury suffered in the regular season finale, while Ingram had a brutal playoff showing and missed the final two games with a heel injury that eventually required surgery. In a season with minimal expectations (externally, at least), the Raptors took an Eastern Conference finalist to seven games despite missing their starting PG and go-to scorer. Not bad.

Coaching

Darko Rajakovic did a nice job in his third season at the helm. A 16-win improvement while becoming the first European coach in NBA history to lead a team to the playoffs make for nice feathers in his cap. The team plays with spirit and his background in player development has undoubtedly played a part in multiple Raptors improving to the point of career years in his tenure. To put a vibes-based bow on it, the players seem to like Rajakovic and know that he’ll go to bat for them come hell or high water. That’s a great element when your team is on the rise, and it certainly helps that he and the players have all gotten better over the last three seasons.

On the floor, Rajakovic’s philosophy is to play fast and keep the ball moving. Roster issues tilted things way too far towards iso ball in the final year of Nick Nurse’s tenure but since the coaching change, the Raptors have been adamant about pushing the tempo and creating havoc with their defensive skills. This year, with a legitimate primary scorer in the fold and no reason to tank, we saw the clearest indicators yet of what Toronto’s identity is meant to be. They have been a top-3 team in assist rate and top-4 in points in the paint each season since Rajakovic took over but found another gear this year, and a bevy of other numbers were pulled up thanks to a more talented and cohesive roster.

Year over year, the Raptors jumped in offensive rating (26th to 15th), defensive rating (15th to 5th), net rating (24th to 11th), assist:turnover ratio (15th to 2nd) and turnover rate (25th to 11th). They led the league in fastbreak points and were fourth in points off turnovers while ranking second and fourth in opponent scoring in those categories. They were diligent in creating turnovers while taking care of the ball themselves, and tilting the math via the possession game was the clear path to victory given the lack of shooting on the roster. Having a player like Barnes also gives them a unique transition weapon and Rajakovic has done well to tailor the play style to the strengths of his best player.

Rajakovic also showed well in the playoffs while going up against a huge talent deficit. He quickly ratcheted up the minutes for Jamal Shead and Collin Murray-Boyles and held firm about Jakob Poeltl’s place on the floor despite some early struggles, and it is worth pointing out that Poeltl was a solid contributor in the team’s three wins in the series. Banishing him from the rotation after a rough Game 1 & 2 would’ve been easy but shortsighted, opening up new cans of worms to deal with. Rajakovic instead empowered Poeltl to stick with it and was rewarded with positive output. The same goes for Ja’Kobe Walter, who went through a dreadful shooting slump in Games 3 & 4 but was encouraged to keep firing, resulting in great numbers over the final three games of the series. In the end the Raptors didn’t have enough firepower to stick with a Cleveland lineup featuring four All-Stars, especially with Quickley and Ingram out for the deciding games, but took it to the wire anyway. They outworked Cleveland for most of the series and were able to draw up enough open shots for one another to stay in the fight. Really strong work by the coaching staff from wire to wire. Persistent late-game offensive issues have more to do with the missing skill sets than any Rajakovic shortcomings.

The Players

Scottie Barnes

SF, Toronto Raptors

ADP: 26.7 / 34.5 (Yahoo/ESPN) | Total Value: 6/6 (8/9-cat) | Per-Game Value: 17/13 (8/9-cat)

Barnes established himself as one of the most versatile players in the league today and the playoffs, despite a first-round exit, allowed him to show everyone else what they’ve been missing out on if they don’t regularly watch the Raptors. The arrival of Brandon Ingram would naturally impact Barnes’ scoring and usage but fantasy managers shouldn’t have been scared off by that since Barnes is at his best in a secondary capacity anyway. The introduction of a new, legitimate go-to scorer allowed Barnes to focus on what he does best, and it resulted in a huge leap to a new career-high in FG% and truly elite defensive numbers (with a career-high in FT% for good measure). Ingram ended up getting a lot of the “bad” late-clock shots that Barnes had to take a year ago, and with another option around for teams to think about Barnes was able to push the pace, create for teammates and attack the rim. His strength, length and instincts are top flight and Barnes had all those tools translate to the box score, much to the delight of fantasy managers.

The playoffs were somehow even better. His .381 shooting from beyond the arc was a bit fluky but everything else he did was astounding. Barnes is a certified Playoff Riser and was easily the best player in the series. He had three games of double-digit assists and scored 20-plus points in six of seven tries. Facing elimination in Game 6, Barnes dropped 25 points,seven rebounds and 14 dimes with three steals, three blocks and an 11-of-21 shooting line. Barnes was the primary factor behind James Harden and Donovan Mitchell’s struggles, and while the Raptors always wanted to run and gun off of turnovers Barnes also pulled his team onto the treadmill even on made baskets. He was able to turn any play into a pseudo transition opportunity and the Cavs had no answers for him once he got a head of steam. Barnes also showed off a deeper scoring bag than anticipated, drilling turnarounds from the mid-range and some dead-on triples. Some ridiculous snubs from Defensive Player of the Year, the All-Defense First Team and the All-NBA squads aside, Barnes was brilliant. It was fair to question how all these players fit together coming into the season, but coming out it’s clear that everyone else on the roster should be tailored to get the most out of Barnes. He’s not an elite scorer but there are few players on the planet who can do everything that Barnes does on a regular basis.

Brandon Ingram

SF, Toronto Raptors

ADP: 64.5 / 78.6 (Yahoo/ESPN) | Total Value: 35/46 (8/9-cat) | Per-Game Value: 63/84 (8/9-cat)

Ingram was Toronto’s big acquisition and while he was technically acquired last year, he never suited up with the Raptors in an injury-marred campaign. His fit was shaky given that Ingram and Scottie Barnes tend to occupy the same spots on the floor offensively and both players tend to be at their best when they’re handling the ball and making plays out of the mid-range. Still, Ingram gave the team a legitimate go-to scorer and it didn’t take long to see the appeal of having a guy who can glide to his spots and get bailout buckets almost at will. There were some bumps in the road but the team pulled out all the stops to get Ingram healthy, comfortable and in rhythm. In short, the Raptors tried their best to make Ingram feel at home. Their efforts paid off.

Ingram was selected to the All-Star team in a huge bounce-back effort. A year after a horrendous ankle sprain limited Ingram to 18 appearances in 2024-25, he played in 77 games – his most since 79 as a rookie all the way back in 2016-17. A dip in assists kept Ingram from a couple extra rounds of value in the fantasy rankings but he was able to hit the ground running and stick to his bread and butter; his ability to drill mid-range jumpers opened up a lot for the offense. He shot it reasonably well from the field and posted his best 3-point percentage since 2022-23, doing just enough to threaten opponents from the perimeter. It was a bit of a squeeze to plop Ingram into an offense that prioritizes passing and pace, and some of the advanced numbers will show that Ingram wasn’t the most impactful guy, but his presence offered a real security blanket for a team light on scoring talent. Unfortunately, Ingram had a disastrous playoff run. He was shaken by the Cavs’ size and physicality and also just missed a bunch of shots that normally drop. After a remarkably healthy regular season, Ingram could not outrun a right heel problem that he had been battling for months. He missed the last two and a half games of the series and underwent surgery to remove a heel spur in early May. It was a very difficult end to a strong season otherwise and while the Raptors still have some big-picture questions to answer about the fit, it would’ve been hard to cook up a better first impression.

Immanuel Quickley

PG, Toronto Raptors

ADP: 73.7 / 108.9 (Yahoo/ESPN) | Total Value: 55/47 (8/9-cat) | Per-Game Value: 68/54 (8/9-cat)

Quickley’s first full season with the Raptors was one of missed opportunities as injuries kept him from finding any real rhythm before the tanking took over. His second effort was much, much better and Quickley hit the ground running with middle-round value. It didn’t always feel like Quickley was producing strong fantasy value because his scoring would bounce around a bit as the third or fourth option on offense but the fact remains that he was one of only two credible NBA guards on the squad, which meant he would have had to trip all over himself to mess this up. Quickley took a lot of heat for whatever mistakes he made when operating as a lead guard but his spacing remained an essential ingredient to the team’s success, and his lapses as a playmaker were part of the expected growing pains. He improved his FG% (.420 to .444) and his steals (0.7 to 1.3) while the rest of his numbers stayed pretty level (we’ll shout out a new career-high in assists per game), which was a solid outcome considering he was sharing the floor with Brandon Ingram, but the real win was that he played in 70 games. If only that’s how it ended.

The bulk of Quickley’s absences came at the end of the season thanks to right plantar fasciitis and unfortunately he suffered a hamstring injury in the season finale while he was trying to shake off the rust. That ended up knocking him out for the entire playoff run, and with how tight the series ended up being it’s fair to say that Quickley could have made the difference. He’s far from perfect as the Raptors’ starting PG but Quickley is a capable fantasy option. Whether he gets a chance to build on this season as the full-time starter in Toronto next year is anyone’s guess.

RJ Barrett

SG, Toronto Raptors

ADP: 95.3 / 81.2 (Yahoo/ESPN) | Total Value: 159/173 (8/9-cat) | Per-Game Value: 146/165 (8/9-cat)

This is just a sneak peek of the Season Wrap. The entire roster is covered, as well as the Fantasy Star, Letdown, One to Watch and One Burning Question for this team. You’ll need to have an Ethos 360, All-Sport or NBA FantasyPass membership. Click here to learn more and sign up! Premium Access Required Error: Cannot find AJ Lawson in player database

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Mike Passador

Mike graduated from Boston University’s Dual Degree Program with a BA in Economics and a BS in Business with Concentrations in Marketing and Operations Management. He is a faithful supporter of Toronto sports and the Detroit Lions and is always ready to be let down. Tweet to him @Mike_Pandador, but if you badmouth Jose Calderon you might get blocked.

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