Jamison Battle looks like the kind of player who can quietly solve a real problem for the Raptors.
Toronto needs more shooting, plain and simple, and Battle already gives them something they’ve been missing: a dependable 3-point stroke. He shot 40.5% from deep on 4.4 attempts as a rookie, then followed that up by hitting 41.2% from 3-point range last season even as his role shrank. When the Raptors needed a spark, he gave them one, including a perfect 4-for-4 night from beyond the arc in Game 3 of the playoffs that helped deliver the team’s first win of the series.
That kind of shooting is valuable, but it won’t be enough on its own to lock down steady minutes in Darko Rajakovic’s rotation. Battle has to hold up defensively, too, if he’s going to stay on the floor and help Toronto stretch the court.
Rajakovic sounded optimistic about that part of Battle’s game at Raptors media day. “I thought this summer, just watching Jamison Battle, he improved a lot,” Rajakovic said when listing a few Raptors players who he expects to be better defensively this season.
The Raptors could use every bit of that progress. They are bringing in an excellent 3-point shooter with Kawhi Leonard, but that move also sent Brandon Ingram away, and Ingram was one of their more efficient outside shooters last season. Even with Leonard back in Toronto, the team still doesn’t have nearly enough reliable shooting around him.
That showed up last season, when Toronto finished 26th in made 3-pointers per game. Only one other playoff team, the Detroit Pistons, made fewer.
Battle could help change that if he earns a more stable role. In the 2024-25 season, when he played about 17 minutes per game, he knocked down almost two 3-pointers a night. At 6’7”, he also gives the Raptors something useful from a lineup-building standpoint, especially after Sandro Mamukelashvili left for the Los Angeles Lakers in free agency.
That matters because Toronto still has questions at the position. Scottie Barnes and Collin Murray-Boyles haven’t been good 3-point shooters so far, and rookie Allen Graves is still an unknown at the NBA level. Graves shot the ball well in summer league, but he still has to prove he can do it against quicker, more polished defenders.
For now, Battle looks positioned to open the season around ninth or tenth in the rotation, behind Immanuel Quickley, RJ Barrett, Kawhi Leonard, Scottie Barnes, Jakob Poeltl, Collin Murray-Boyles, Ja’Kobe Walter, and Jamal Shead. But if Graves comes in and starts hitting threes while living up to the defensive disruption he’s been billed to provide, he could push Battle for minutes before long.
In Other News...
Brandon Ingram Trade Just Took A Tough Turn For Raptors Fans
Brandon Ingrams next chapter hit an early snag before it even really began, and Raptors fans have reason to take notice. After being dealt from Toronto to the Clippers, Ingram was expected to give Los Angeles a major scoring boost, but the new teams medical staff uncovered a serious issue ahead of training camp, changing the outlook almost immediately.
Ingram had already undergone offseason surgery, and the Clippers have not offered a timetable for when he might return. For Toronto, it is another reminder that the move is already carrying a different kind of risk than the one fans were focused on when the trade first went through, with his availability now in question as the season gets underway. [Read more 🡒]
Kawhi Is Already Sending A Message About The Clippers Fallout
Kawhi Leonards return to Toronto came with the kind of quiet, pointed message that tends to linger around a team long after the microphones are turned off. On his first media session back with the Raptors, Leonard asked that the conversation stay centered on basketball, even as the NBA investigation into him and the Clippers continued to hang over his offseason. He made clear that the process had been a distraction, but he also sounded energized by the chance to rejoin a familiar setting and get back to competing at the level he expects.
For the Raptors, the appeal is as much about fit as it is about talent. Leonard spoke about wanting to compete at a high level and said Toronto offers the right environment for that, which is exactly the sort of message this franchise wants to hear from a player of his stature. The unresolved backdrop remains obvious, but Leonards immediate priority is to move the focus back to his new-old team and the work ahead. [Read more 🡒]
Raptors Face One Big Question With Murray-Boyles And Poeltl
At a recent media day, Darko Rajakovi laid out one of the more interesting lineup puzzles facing the Raptors: how to get Collin Murray-Boyles on the floor in multiple spots without boxing the roster into awkward combinations. The idea is to use him at both the four and the five, which gives Toronto some lineup flexibility and a chance to lean into his versatility while keeping Jakob Poeltl in the mix.
The appeal is obvious, but so are the tradeoffs. Putting those two together raises questions about spacing and defensive matchups, and it also puts a premium on managing Murray-Boyles carefully after the injury issues he dealt with last season. For the Raptors, the challenge is finding a way to keep the frontcourt functional without asking one player to carry too much of the load. [Read more 🡒]