They’ve built from the ground up, layer by layer, through draft nights, growing pains, and flashes of success. As that patience turns into progress, this year’s Toronto Raptors are seeing the rewards of that work.
After two years of groundwork and defining culture, the pieces are coming together. Talent, leadership, and chemistry are aligning into something that’s starting to look less like potential and more like purpose. Around the facility, there’s a quiet confidence — not that the journey is complete, but that they’re on the right path and ready to show how far they’ve come.
The front office has set its direction. The locker room has embraced it. The coach has shaped it. And now, with a balanced roster headlined by Scottie Barnes and newly arrived Brandon Ingram, Toronto looks like a team determined to keep building — and hungry to prove the work is paying off.
By Ethan Diamandas
Ingram arrived in Toronto in February as the perfect type of player to add to the franchise: a proven scorer with playoff experience and the poise to anchor an offense when possessions tighten. Acquiring Ingram from New Orleans was bold but necessary, a statement that the Raptors were done lingering between eras.
“I think rather than proving people wrong, it’s just proving to myself who I am,” Ingram said at the team’s fall media day. “Stepping into a new role, new teammates, new coaches, having the responsibility of being my best self every day and winning basketball games — I think that’s the most exciting part for me.”
His path to this point wasn’t simple. An ankle injury wiped out most of his 2024–25 season, but after months of rehab and training, Ingram entered camp fully cleared and eager to rediscover his rhythm. Toronto has managed his workload carefully, but the early flashes have been undeniable. Even in preseason games, Ingram has controlled offensive possessions, sunk effortless pull-up shots, and demonstrated the same smooth creation that made him an All-Star in the West.
“I’m just excited to bring my skill level and make things easier for other guys,” said Ingram. “Playmaking, scoring, getting stops and going on the other end, just having fun. It does feel like a fresh start. New faces, new coaches, learning new things. Hopefully I can show my full game.”
Ingram’s arrival gives Toronto a perimeter
scorer who can bend defenses and close games. For head coach Darko Rajaković, it also adds another layer to his system built on movement, spacing, and trust.
“If you look at my two years here with the team, the first year was all over the place, looking for direction,” Rajaković said. “Then deciding to go into rebuild, that was quite a bit to deal with. Ownership changes, leadership changes, a lot of change everywhere. What I’m really looking forward to now is consistency and continuity. I’m excited about this group. It’s going to be really exciting to see how these guys develop and gel together.”
Barnes remains at the heart of the roster. The forward who once represented Toronto’s “future” now stands firmly as its present. Barnes signed his rookie-max extension in 2024 and enters this season as the team’s emotional engine, voice, and identity.
His transformation hasn’t just been about numbers. While his averages continue to climb, his worth within the organization is also about command. He sets the tone on both ends, and teammates follow his lead.
“We have a very talented roster,” Barnes said. “We have about 13 or 14 guys that can step on the floor every single night and make an impact. Other rosters might be top-five heavy, but we have a complete roster right now.”
That completeness is central to Rajaković’s vision. Barnes’ versatility — handling, passing,
Raptors to gain momentum. There have been different NBA champions in each of the last seven years, so many teams go into each season with more hope. There are presently no true super teams or dynasties. Dallas, out of nowhere, reached the 2023 NBA Finals; Indiana was there last June. The Eastern Conference is wide open this season. It can be there for the taking for just about anyone.
Under this backdrop, Webster is insistent that there is no longer a need for five-year rebuilds. That if a team finds itself into legitimate contention, it needs to be equipped to pounce. So, reasons Webster, “you have to build the roster in a way you can take advantage of any of these opportunities when they come.”
Webster explains a front office’s role succinctly: “we do a ton of preparation to make a few decisions.” But it’s the how they go about their process to get there that gets him out of bed every morning.
““When it comes to motivating a team, creating leadership structures, how we interact with players, how we construct all that goes into (the Raptors’ practice facility), how to prepare a team to compete every night, that’s fun for me and that’s challenging,” says Webster. And more than that, “how are we hiring the best coaches in the world? How are we hiring the best medical staffs in the world? To me, that’s really fun and also really challenging.”
Webster is purposeful about hiring an eclectic collection of employees that bring a little of everything into the group dynamic. A mix where there are good leaders and fun people. Actual “personality hires” enter into the equation.
“We want people from different backgrounds,” he says. “We have coaches from all over the world. There’s a medical staff from all sorts of disciplines. You want all of these resources available to players.”
Webster knows all eyes are on him, both from the outside and within the walls of the building. That’s what happens when you are in charge. When the expectation of bringing another championship to the city is at the forefront. The success doesn’t — can’t — happen without a
strong culture in the building, where the pressures to win are evident league-wide. And Webster believes a healthy work environment is critical to the franchise fulfilling its mission.
“Look, for anyone who has worked in any organization, what you probably either love about your job or hate about your job is your day-to-day work environment,” explains Webster. “So when you walk into the office, are you happy to go to work? And, are you happy in your hour-to-hour work? I would hope, win or lose, if you’re employed by the Raptors, you’d walk away believing that’s an incredible experience. That you really enjoyed it and grew as a person, while having fun. That every single day, you enjoyed coming in. That’s what I want players and staff to feel working for us.”
And there remains a thirst to learn and improve. Webster has toured some of the world’s most successful sports franchises to get himself a front-row seat on how they operate. Soccer organizations in Europe; Formula 1 teams; NFL buildings, league-wide.
“It’s constant,” Webster says. The Raptors take the approach of, “how can we take the principles or lessons off success from others and translate it into our own?”
Critical to that success for any team is a solid working relationship between the general manager and head coach. Like any successful partnership, Webster and Rajaković have a rapport that is centered on communication. Rare does a day or two goes by without the two of them talking, and if there happens to be a break in the dialogue, inevitably one will message or phone to check-in.
Rajaković is known for his positive energy and developing players. He has brought along many of the young prospects the last couple of years. Now come expectations with Ingram joining a core that features Scottie Barnes, RJ Barrett, Jakob Poeltl, Gradey Dick and the rest.
“This season will be a bit different stress for Darko,” says Webster. “He’s an intense guy. I’m probably not as intense as him, so it’s a good ying and yang. Coaches are a different breed, and it’s been really fun to work with him.”
SCOTTIE BARNES
POSITION: GUARD-FORWARD
HEIGHT: 6' 8''
WEIGHT: 237 LBS
BORN: AUGUST 1, 2001
BIRTHPLACE: WEST PALM BEACH, FL
SCOTTIE BARNES
CAREER STATS PRIOR TO 2025-26 NBA SEASON
Barnes drives the Raptors on both ends, redefining what a modern forward can be. His vision, instincts, and relentless motor make him the centerpiece of Toronto’s attack. Last season, he averaged 19.3 points, 7.7 rebounds, and 5.8 assists over 65 games — one of only a few players leaguewide to produce that balance — and enters his fifth year as the team’s unquestioned tone-setter.
