Brandon Ingram

Raptors Advance To NBA Cup Quarterfinals

November 21st, 2025 at 10:21pm CST by Rory Maher

The red-hot Raptors became the first team to advance to the NBA Cup quarterfinals after beating the lowly Wizards by 30 points on Friday, the league announced (via Twitter). Toronto has now won six straight games and is currently 11-5, while Washington holds the worst record in the NBA at 1-14.

As Eric Koreen of The Athletic writes, the Raptors secured the No. 1 seed in East Group A with their win and Cleveland’s victory over Indiana. Toronto previously defeated the Cavaliers and Hawks in group play and holds the head-to-head tiebreaker over both of those clubs.

The Raptors set a franchise record in the third quarter by scoring 48 points, Koreen notes, blowing the game open in the process. Brandon Ingram (24 points, eight rebounds, six assists), RJ Barrett (24 points, eight rebounds, four assists), Scottie Barnes (23 points, five rebounds, three steals), Sandro Mamukelashvili (23 points, seven rebounds in 21 minutes) and Immanuel Quickley (17 points, seven assists, zero turnovers) all had productive outings for Toronto.

“I think there’s a lot more to come … I’m getting comfortable being me,” said big man Mamukelashvili, a free agent addition over the summer (Twitter link via Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca).

Head coach Darko Rajakovic said the Raptors “have a mission and desire” to host a quarterfinal game with an opportunity to advance to the semifinals in Las Vegas, tweets Grange, and the team is in strong position to do so given its point differential (+53) and 3-0 record. Its last matchup of the group stage is against Indiana next Wednesday.

According to Grange (Twitter link), 13 of the 16 teams that advanced to the knockout stage over the past two years went on to make the playoffs, and the other three were at least involved in the play-in tournament. That could bode well for the Raptors, who haven’t made the postseason since 2021/22.

Raptors Notes: Ingram, Barnes, Mahlalela, Mamukelashvili

November 20th, 2025 at 12:47pm CST by Luke Adams

The Raptors faced some criticism last season for trading a first-round pick for injured forward Brandon Ingram and then signing him to a three-year, $120MM extension despite the fact that he wouldn’t go on to suit up for his new team at all in 2024/25. However, the organization’s investment in Ingram is paying dividends this fall, as Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca writes.

While Ingram’s stats so far this season – 20.9 points and 3.9 assists per game on .496/.302/.878 shooting – don’t necessarily jump off the page, Lewenberg contends that the veteran forward has reshaped Toronto’s offense more significantly than any player since Kawhi Leonard. Ingram has breathed new life into the Raptors’ half-court offense and attracted the sort of attention from opposing defenses that has made it easier for his teammates to operate, Lewenberg adds.

“(Other teams) know how dangerous he is,” teammate Scottie Barnes said. “He draws so much attention. He’s so talented. Once he gets to his spots, it’s unstoppable.”

With nine wins in their last 10 games, the Raptors sit in second place in the Eastern Conference at 10-5 and have the league’s seventh-best offensive rating (117.8) after placing 26th in that category last season (109.6). Toronto also has a great opportunity to continue its hot streak, with games against the East’s bottom four teams – Washington, Brooklyn, Indiana, and Charlotte – on tap before the end of the month.

Here’s more on the resurgent Raptors:

Barnes has been up and down since entering the NBA as a fourth overall pick, earning Rookie of the Year honors in 2022 and an All-Star nod in 2024 while taking small steps back in his second and fourth years. He’s playing at an All-Star level once again in year five, prompting Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca to consider whether the 24-year-old can become a legitimate superstar. As Grange points out, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Kevin Garnett, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar are the only players in NBA history who have maintained Barnes’ current per-game averages in points (19.2 PPG), rebounds (7.8), assists (5.3), blocks (1.7), and steals (1.4) over the course of a full season. Barnes is also shooting 50.0% from the floor and 38.9% on three-pointers in the early going.
Confirming a recent report from Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (Substack link), Grange writes that Raptors assistant Jama Mahlalela is a finalist for the New York Liberty’s head coaching job. Sources tell Grange that the process has been going for “a while” and that interviews are complete, as of this past weekend. If Mahlalela is hired by New York’s WNBA team, it would create a hole on Toronto’s staff and could create a conflict for Team Canada, Grange notes, since Mahlalela has been announced as an assistant on the national team’s staff through the 2028 Olympics.
An under-the-radar offseason signing on a minimum-salary contract, center Sandro Mamukelashvili has been giving the Raptors terrific minutes off the bench, providing the team with much-needed depth behind starter Jakob Poeltl, says Eric Koreen of The Athletic. Mamukelashvili intends to make the most of his first consistent NBA rotation role. “I tell myself that you waited for this opportunity for four years, and no matter what, you go out swinging,” he said. “In Georgia, we have a saying: ‘You don’t risk it, you don’t drink champagne.’ So you’ve got to make sure you come out swinging. I tell that to myself every game.”

Raptors Notes: Barnes, Shead, Ingram, Record, Schedule

November 16th, 2025 at 10:38am CST by Rory Maher

After a disappointing 1-4 start, the Raptors have been on a tear ever since, winning seven of their past eight games to improve to 8-5. Thursday’s win in Cleveland was the team’s most impressive victory of the season, and Scottie Barnes was the best player on the court, recording 28 points, 10 rebounds, eight assists and five blocks in 35 minutes.

“I know what I’m capable of, so just gotta bring that every single night,” Barnes said, per Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca. “Be aggressive, attacking downhill, being aggressive on both ends, and I was just helping my teammates a lot. If someone gets beat just trying to be help for them. So just doing those things on both ends. Once I’m aggressive, then I’m attacking downhill and just drawing the defense on me and being able to kick out. You know, just opens up a lot for our team.”

If Barnes continues to play at the level he has lately, the Raptors will be a dangerous team in a seemingly wide-open Eastern Conference, says Eric Koreen of The Athletic. As Koreen writes, Barnes may have been miscast in the past as a No. 1 offensive option, but the acquisition of Brandon Ingram has allowed Barnes to showcase his all-around skills and push the ball hard in transition.

“When you look at 28 points, eight assists and the offensive stuff, it’s easy to identify he had a good game,” head coach Darko Rajaković said. “He does so much more for us — defensively with five blocked shots, (the) deflections that he’s creating, rotations, how he’s covering for us defensively. He’s doing an outstanding job for us.”

Here’s more on the Raptors:

Barnes was effusive in his praise of 2024 second-round pick Jamal Shead after Thursday’s game, Grange adds. “When he steps on the floor for us, he’s a game changer,” Barnes said of the second-year guard. “We had a lot of games this year where offense looks slow, comes in the game defensively, offensively, changes that entire game. It’s like a little boost, like a little sense of like ‘we’re ready to go’ when he steps on the floor. He changes the game with his offense, defense, be able to get downhill, make those extra reads … he’s super important for our team. He’s been a leader every single day. It’s his, what, second year in the league? And I feel like he’s one of our main leaders.”
While the starters are still getting used to playing with each other and the defense remains an issue, the offensive attention Ingram draws due to his half-court shot-making has created scoring opportunities for his teammates, Koreen writes for The Athletic. “The reality of it is we haven’t really had a player like him with his play style in the past couple years,” center Jakob Poeltl said after Tuesday’s win at Brooklyn. “(There are) a lot of new situations for us that everyone is trying to get used to. Considering where we are in the season … I think we’re doing a good job.”
The last time Toronto was three games above .500 was February 2022, when Barnes was a rookie, notes Grange of Sportsnet. It’s been a while since the Raptors were a solid team, but Barnes is optimistic about the future. “It’s been a long time, man,” he told Grange. “I know we’ve probably been struggling here in Toronto, but I’m happy and we’re super blessed to be in this position. But we can’t take nothing for granted. It’s still a grind; we got to still stay hungry. Just because we’re over .500, that don’t mean nothing.”
As Grange observes in another story, the Raptors have a favorable schedule over their next four games, with upcoming matchups against the Hornets (4-9), Sixers (7-5), Wizards (1-11) and Nets (1-11), giving the team an opportunity to move further up the standings.

Atlantic Notes: McCain, Barlow, Walsh, Minott, Ingram

November 13th, 2025 at 2:58pm CST by Luke Adams

After missing nearly 11 months of action due to knee and thumb injuries, Sixers guard Jared McCain has looked shaky in his first three games back. Playing just 31 total minutes across those three outings, McCain has gone scoreless on 0-of-9 shooting.

In the hopes of getting McCain more comfortable on the court and getting him more full-speed reps, the 76ers assigned the second-year guard to the G League on Thursday, as Derek Bodner of PHLY Sports relays (Twitter links). The expectation is that he’ll suit up for the Delaware Blue Coats tonight and again on Saturday before being recalled to the NBA.

“I just really want him to get some trips up and down the court,” Nurse said (Twitter video link). “I think that’s a good little window for him, a couple home games for them. Then he’ll be right back in the swing of things. … Just get him up and down and get some conditioning. (He’s had) three really short stints in the last 11 months. This is maybe a couple of chances to have some longer stints.”

Here are a few more items of interest from around the Atlantic:

Sixers forward Dominick Barlow, who has been out since October 25 due to a right elbow injury, has been cleared to return, Nurse told reporters today (Twitter link via Kyle Neubeck of PHLY Sports). Barlow was Philadelphia’s starting power forward in the two games he played, but Trendon Watford has been handling that role as of late.
After playing crunch-time minutes in the Celtics‘ previous two games, Jordan Walsh was inserted into the starting five on Wednesday for the first time this season, writes Brian Robb of MassLive. Walsh had seven points, six rebounds, and two blocks with a +19 plus/minus mark in 18 minutes of action as Boston blew out the Grizzlies. “Honestly, I just think he’s been more professional and maturing,” teammate Payton Pritchard said of Walsh, who played a limited role in each of his first two seasons. “Now, he’s ready for the moment. Just stressing him to like don’t take it for granted. Come hungry still every day and keep pushing.”
Walsh’s promotion has come largely at the expense of Josh Minott, who played a season-low eight minutes on Tuesday and didn’t appear in the second half, then came off the bench on Wednesday after having made nine straight starts. Minott is struggling with his consistency, Robb writes, though the 6’8″ forward ended up seeing plenty of action in Wednesday’s one-sided victory, registering nine points, five rebounds, and four assists in 22 minutes.
Raptors forward Brandon Ingram, who was fined $25K for throwing a water bottle that ricocheted off the court and hit a game attendant, apologized for that incident, according to Danielle Michaud of Sportsnet.ca (Twitter link). “It was just the emotions of the game came out then,” Ingram said. “Like, how I was playing offensively and defensively, just frustration. I wish I wouldn’t have had anybody else involved when I did that. I apologized a bunch of times to the kid that got hit in the face with the water bottle — it wasn’t my intention at all. I was just frustrated in the midst of the game.”

Raptors’ Brandon Ingram Fined $25K By NBA

November 10th, 2025 at 4:49pm CST by Rory Maher

Raptors forward Brandon Ingram has been fined $25K for spiking his water bottle while on the bench during the third quarter of Saturday’s loss in Philadelphia, the NBA announced today in a press release (Twitter link).

Ingram’s bottle of water bounced off the floor and hit a game attendant, the statement notes. The incident also resulted in the game being delayed in order to dry the court (YouTube link).

As Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca observes (via Twitter), Ingram appeared to be frustrated after an injury scare — he pulled up limping after fouling Sixers forward Trendon Watford on an and-one drive. Regardless of the rationale, it certainly wasn’t a good look for Ingram, who simply sat on the bench and watched as several people — including teammate Garrett Temple — cleaned up the mess he created.

In his first full season with the Raptors, Ingram is averaging 21.0 points, 6.3 rebounds and 4.0 assists on .510/.317/.902 shooting through 10 games (33.3 minutes per contest). The one-time All-Star is earning about $38.1MM this season, so the fine won’t impact him much financially.

Raptors Notes: Ingram, Barrett, Murray-Boyles

October 26th, 2025 at 12:21pm CST by Rory Maher

Former All-Star forward Brandon Ingram has become something of an afterthought around the league after battling a variety of injuries in recent years. He was limited to just 18 games last season, largely due to a severe ankle sprain, and didn’t play at all for the Raptors in 2024/25 after being acquired from New Orleans in a February trade.

“There was a time when I did not necessarily lose love for the game, but I just had a lot of uncertainty,” Ingram told Eric Koreen of The Athletic. “Going on two months, three months with the ankle. ‘When am I gonna be healthy again?’ That dawned on me a little bit. … I was like, ‘Damn, I don’t know when I’m going to be back to my normal self.’”

Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca also takes an in-depth look at Ingram, writing that the 28-year-old decided to make several changes this offseason to try and be more available in 2025/26. Despite publicly coming across as nonchalant at times, Ingram is known for being a focused and relentless worker behind the scenes.

“I think most of my injuries have come from overworking,” Ingram said. “I don’t know how to stay out of the gym. Every day, I want to do a two-a-day. So, it’s about knowing when to rest, when to be out on the floor, when to go hard, when certain days are mental days. It’s all about that … I’m just trying to do everything I can do that’s in my control.”

According to both Koreen and Grange, Ingram has established himself as a leader on a young Raptors team, both on and off the court. The former No. 2 overall pick says he’s not trying to prove any of his doubters wrong, but rather prove himself right.

“I know my own vision for where I want to be and that’s at the top of the league,” Ingram said, per Grange. “I keep that in my mind. You work for it and you wait for it to show up. Eventually things are going to take a turn, and it’s going to be the most beautiful thing ever.”

Here’s more from Toronto:

While turnovers (4.5 per contest) have been an issue, Ingram has otherwise gotten off to a solid start with the Raptors, averaging 22.5 points, 7.5 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.0 steal on .472/.333/.800 shooting through two games (32.0 MPG). “What I was most impressed with was how poised we were on the offensive end,” Ingram told Koreen after Wednesday’s season-opening win in Atlanta. “When the game slowed down and we had to go into our execution, everybody was poised and we just got the best shot.”
Guard/forward RJ Barrett was eligible for a contract extension before the season began, but his agents didn’t have serious discussions with the team about a potential new deal, according to Grange, who says the Raptors want to get a better idea of how Barrett fits alongside Ingram and Scottie Barnes before deciding what to do with him going forward. “Realistically, those things don’t really happen until the end of the season anyway,” Barrett said about extension talks. “I’m not really thinking about it. OK, I lied, I’m thinking about it. But more so I’m trying to focus on winning and making an impact here. When you do that, that’s how the rest gets taken care of.”
Lottery pick Collin Murray-Boyles is inching closer to making his regular season debut. He’s considered day-to-day with a right forearm strain, Grange writes, and is officially listed as questionable for Sunday’s contest in Dallas. No other Raptor appears on the injury report.

Atlantic Notes: Embiid, Edgecombe, Ingram, Demin

October 19th, 2025 at 10:11am CST by Rory Maher

Star center Joel Embiid suited up for the Sixers for the first time in nearly eight months in Friday’s preseason finale against Minnesota, writes Tim Bontemps of ESPN. While the Timberwolves were resting most of their rotation regulars, Philadelphia — and Embiid — came away encouraged by how he looked during the 126-110 win.

“I don’t want to really think about the past,” Embiid said. “I’m just in a good space mentally, physically. … I’m just happy to touch the basketball and be able to play basketball and do what I love.

“When you don’t get [to do] that, it’s tough, but that’s what I’m most happy about. So today, tonight, that’s all I kept thinking about. I’m on the court playing basketball, doing some good things, helping us win, and yeah, that’s really what I was focused on.”

As Bontemps notes, Embiid has been plagued by left knee issues the past couple years, limiting him to 58 games over that span, including just 19 last season. In approximately 19 minutes on Friday, the 2023 MVP put up 14 points, eight assists, seven rebounds and three steals.

“I mean, I won’t say I feel like I was 18 years old again,” Embiid said with a smile when asked if he felt like the past few weeks have gone as well as could be expected in his ramp-up to the season. “That’s never going to happen. But I’m just taking it day by day. Like I said, just learning. Some days are going to be good, some days I’m going to be a little bit tight, so learn from it and adjust and keep doing the right things.”

Here are a few more notes from the Atlantic Division:

Embiid wasn’t the only member of the Sixers who played well in Friday’s tune-up, with Tyrese Maxey (27 points, seven assists, four rebounds, two steals in 30 minutes), VJ Edgecombe (26 points, six rebounds, three assists, five steals in 34 minutes) and Quentin Grimes (22 points, five assists, three steals in 26 minutes in his preseason debut) all turning in strong showings. Head coach Nick Nurse complimented No. 3 overall pick Edgecombe in particular, tweets Derek Bodner of PHLY Sports. “It’s almost every single day you see something from his athleticism that you say ‘wow.’ … He’s way ahead of where we thought he might be being able to do that [running the offense]. …He’s got a good feel for the game.”
In an exclusive interview with Marc J. Spears of Andscape, forward Brandon Ingram talks about joining the Raptors and leaving the Pelicans. While the former All-Star has “a lot of love for New Orleans,” he’s ready for a fresh start in Toronto. “This team can be whatever we want it to be,” Ingram said of the Raptors. “We have everything on the defensive end. We play hard. The next thing is execution over and over again on the offensive end. … The East is wide open this [upcoming season]. We have a chance to be better, but we’ve got to expedite it.”
Nets guard/forward Egor Demin, this year’s No. 8 overall pick, missed most of training camp and preseason with a plantar fascia tear in his foot, an injury he tells Brian Lewis of The New York Post he actually sustained prior to June’s draft — not during Summer League — that gradually got worse over time. While the Russian teenager admitted the injury will likely have to be monitored throughout his rookie season, he doesn’t think he’ll need surgery to address it down the line.
Demin made his Nets preseason debut on Thursday, scoring 14 points and grabbing five rebounds in 19 minutes off the bench in a five-point loss to Toronto. “He was excellent,” head coach Jordi Fernández said of Demin, per Lewis. “There’s going to be things he’s going to keep working on. We’ve got to keep building him up physically to be able to sustain more minutes. … But I’m very happy with his presence, how composed he was, how he talked to his teammates, all those things. And made it look easy. He shot the ball every time he was open or halfway open, got to the free-throw line and rebounded. He got five rebounds, made nice plays at the rim. It was good.”

Raptors Notes: Murray-Boyles, Boucher, Barrett, Hepburn, More

October 11th, 2025 at 9:34am CST by Rory Maher

Alongside Brandon Ingram, who has looked “healthy and free of rust” while averaging nearly a point per minute, No. 9 overall pick Collin Murray-Boyles has been one of the early standouts for the Raptors during preseason, writes Eric Koreen of The Athletic.

As Koreen details, Murray-Boyles has displayed an intriguing blend of defensive versatility and court vision, and has also been ready — and willing — to shoot open three-pointers, which will be important part of his development going forward.

“We did make a couple of tweaks on his shooting mechanics,” head coach Darko Rajakovic said of Murray-Boyles’ outside shot. “He’s put a lot of work in. I’m encouraging him to take those shots. And he feels that he’s very comfortable actually in games. He looks like a player that’s looking for those shots and not shying away.”

Unfortunately, the 6’7″ forward sustained a right elbow contusion in the first quarter of Friday’s loss to Boston, limiting him to just eight minutes of action. Rajakovic told reporters that X-rays on the elbow were negative (Twitter link via Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca), but Murray-Boyles was in “visible pain” in the locker room, according to Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca, who reports that the 20-year-old will likely undergo an MRI.

“I don’t know what happened, but when the adrenaline wore off, it really hurt,” Murray-Boyles told Grange.

Here’s more on the Raptors:

After spending the past seven seasons with the Raptors, veteran big man Chris Boucher signed with Boston in free agency. He had a big game on Friday against his former club, recording 19 points (on 7-of-10 shooting) and nine rebounds in 23 minutes. In an interesting story for The Players’ Tribune, the 32-year-old forward/center discussed his journey from being an unhoused teenager in Montreal to having a long NBA career. Boucher had nothing but good things to say about the Raptors and Canadians in general.
According to Grange, while Toronto explored trades involving RJ Barrett this summer, the team didn’t find much of a market for the former No. 3 overall pick. Barrett, a Toronto native, will earn $27.7MM this season and $29.6MM in 2026/27 before hitting unrestricted free agency.
With all five starters resting on Friday, undrafted rookie Chucky Hepburn had a solid outing, recording 13 points, eight assists and four steals in 27 minutes, Grange notes. The 22-year-old guard is on a two-way contract with the Raptors.
Both Koreen and Grange suggest the Raptors may opt to carry 14 players on standard contracts to open the season. According to Grange, A.J. Lawson has supporters in the organization, but he’s signed to a non-guaranteed contract, and the Raptors already have a surplus of “skinnier swingmen,” as Koreen writes.
For his part, Lawson said he’s focused on the present. “You just got to be yourself,” Lawson said, per Grange. “Don’t worry about all the other factors that could possibly happen. Just do what you can do, control what you can control, and for me, play hard every time I’m out there, show I can defend at a high level, show I can create and knock down the shot. If I keep doing that, I feel like I’ll be okay. I just can’t focus on the things that are out of my control.”

Raptors Notes: Brown, Ingram, Dick, Walter, Shead

October 7th, 2025 at 2:57pm CST by Luke Adams

A number of fans in Toronto took exception to comments Bruce Brown made about his time with the Raptors ahead of training camp last week. The veteran guard, who is back with the Nuggets after spending the past two seasons with the Pacers, Raptors, and Pelicans, spoke at media day about being part of “a lot of losing basketball” since leaving the Nuggets as a free agent in 2023 and told Marc J. Spears of Andscape that he had thought about coming back to Denver “as soon as I got to Toronto.”

Ahead of the Nuggets’ game against the Raptors on Monday, Brown spoke to Kayla Grey of TSN (Twitter link) about those remarks, explaining that they weren’t intended as a shot at Toronto or the Raptors.

“Media day, they asked me, ‘When did you think about getting to Denver’ And I said when I got to Toronto. That wasn’t like I didn’t want to go Toronto,” Brown said. “I went to Indy. I finally chose where I could go, and three months in, they trade me, and I’m like, ‘Why the f–k did I go? I could have stayed in Denver and been happy.’

“I think Toronto’s one of the best cities in the NBA, easily. Like, I loved my time in Toronto. It’s insane. So don’t let people on social media twist my words, because I loved my time in Toronto. But it’s just the beast of it.”

Here are a few more notes on the Raptors:

Scottie Barnes failed to make a field goal and all five Raptors starters had negative net ratings in the team’s preseason opener against Denver on Monday. Still, while the game showed that there’s plenty of room for improvement, Brandon Ingram‘s Raptors debut was an encouraging one, according to Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca, who notes that the veteran forward looked “perfectly comfortable” generating half-court offense, which is why the team traded for him last season. Ingram had a team-high 19 points on 6-of-12 shooting.
Gradey Dick and Ja’Kobe Walter were the Raptors’ first-round picks in 2023 and 2024, respectively, but their roles for the 2025/26 season aren’t guaranteed. According to Grange, both players are embracing the challenge of having to fight for minutes in Toronto’s rotation. “This is the first time in my life, no doubt, that I’ve had to (battle for minutes),” Walter said on Sunday. “It’s definitely the first time, I’d say, where I haven’t been like the main guy on the team, but you know, I love it. I like the competitiveness. I like the drive I have to have every day.”
Second-year Raptors point guard Jamal Shead has emerged as the leader among the club’s younger players, per Eric Koreen of The Athletic. While Koreen likens Shead’s role to the one Fred VanVleet played on a young second unit during his early years in Toronto, the 23-year-old downplayed his impact. “Honestly, it’s just information. I’m a point guard. I give out information. They take it, they receive it, and then we move on from there,” Shead said. “I don’t think it’s more of them just following me (because) I’m the best leader ever. I think it’s just more of a respect thing.”

Raptors Notes: Ingram, Murray-Boyles, Rotations, Chomche

October 5th, 2025 at 7:01pm CST by Eli Cohen

After three straight years of playing at- or below-.500 basketball, the Raptors are entering this season with a chip on their shoulder, writes Eric Koreen for The Athletic.

According to Koreen, that’s especially true of newcomer Brandon Ingram, who was named an All-Star and Most Improved Player in the 2019/20 season, but has struggled to gain recognition for his impact in the years that followed due to both injuries and an underperforming Pelicans team. It’s not only Ingram who feels that way, according to veteran Garrett Temple.

“Scottie (Barnes) was the No. 4 pick, but everyone was like, ‘Why are they picking you No. 4?’ RJ (Barrett) and (Immanuel Quickley): Toronto wanted you, but New York obviously traded you,” Temple told Koreen. “BI, New Orleans traded you. Ochai (Agbaji) got traded after (in his second season). You can look guys down the line: ‘Gradey (Dick), are you really good enough to play in the NBA, or is it just show?’ You can look at a lot of our players, and there’s a reason to have a chip on the shoulder. I think that’s what brings a lot of people together.”

While some Raptors may be using that history as motivation this season, Ingram is wary of letting that feeling drive him.

“I think when you go try to prove yourself to other people, it never works out,” he said on Monday. “If you look too far and try to impress people, you’ll take failures more.”

We have more notes from the Raptors:

In a recap of the Raptors’ yearly end-of-camp open scrimmage, Michael Grange of Sportsnet writes that Ingram showed how he can bring a skill set as a scorer that Toronto hasn’t had in years, whether on or off the ball.
In the same piece, Grange notes that Collin Murray-Boyles has been a standout. While Murray-Boyles was drafted in large part on the strength of his defense, he displayed some intriguing offensive potential during the team’s scrimmage, including hitting a three-pointer. Grange writes that the rookie’s shooting development will be a major factor in his ceiling as an NBA player. Raptors coach Darko Rajakovic was also impressed by the young big man’s performance. “He’s been doing a really, really good job,” Rajakovic said. “He’s not afraid of anything or anybody.”
Another noteworthy detail from the scrimmage, according to Grange, was how the rotations shook out. Quickley, Barrett, and Ingram were joined by Scottie Barnes and Jakob Poeltl, as was expected. The second unit was where it got more interesting, as Rajakovic used a lineup of Jamal Shead, Gradey Dick, Ochai Agbaji, Murray-Boyles, and Sandro Mamukelashvili. This left Ja’Kobe Walter, the 19th pick in the 2024 draft, on the outside looking in, along with Jamison Battle and Jonathan Mogbo. All three of those players averaged at least 17 minutes per game last season, but with the additions of Ingram and Murray-Boyles, plus hopefully a healthy season from Quickley, there will likely be fewer end-of-bench minutes to go around this year.
Finally, Grange provides an update on two-way player Ulrich Chomche, who has been held out of practice for much of training camp and will be getting medical imaging done on Monday. Grange notes that he jogged out during the game to greet his teammates, which would seem to indicate that the injury limiting him is not something severe.

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