The Toronto Raptors may finally be turning the corner. Winners of six of their past seven, Toronto’s retooled, Scottie-Barnes–led roster is showing the first real signs that its post-championship rebuild is taking hold.
Long gone are the Kawhi Leonard (short but sweet), Kyle Lowry and Pascal Siakam from the 2019 NBA title team. In are Barnes, Brandon Ingram and RJ Barrett.
This group has struggled in recent years, as Toronto (7-5) has missed the playoffs in four of the past five seasons. But the first 12 games of the 2025-26 campaign look exactly like what GM Bobby Webster and the rest of the front office have envisioned when building around franchise centerpiece Barnes (20.2 PPG).
Besides Barnes, Toronto has scorers in Barrett (19.1 PPG) and Ingram (20.5 PPG), quality starters in Immanuel Quickley (16.1 PPG) and Jakob Poeltl (9.8 PPG) and a bench full of impactful pieces (Gradey Dick, Jamal Shead and rookie Collin Murray-Boyles).
That was on full display during Toronto’s 126–113 road win in Cleveland (8-5) on Thursday night. Depth is a strength for the Raptors, but it was Barnes who took control, outscoring the player drafted ahead of him in 2021, Evan Mobley, 28–7. Cleveland media noticed.
