Kawhi Leonard, Jaylen Brown Named Players Of Week
Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard and Celtics forward Jaylen Brown have been named the Western and Eastern Conference Players of the Week, respectively, according to the NBA (Twitter links).
Leonard led the Clippers to three wins during the week of December 22-28 while posting averages of 41.3 points, 9.0 rebounds and 2.7 steals per contest. The star forward erupted for a career-high 55 points against the Pistons on Sunday.
It’s Leonard’s fourth Player of the Week award as a Clipper and the 10th of his NBA career, but it’s the first time he has earned the honor since the 2023/24 season.
Kevin Durant (Rockets), Keyonte George (Jazz), Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (Thunder) and Nikola Jokic (Nuggets) were the other Western Conference nominees.
The Celtics, meanwhile, went 2-1 last week with Brown averaging 32.7 points on 55.9 percent shooting from the field while also grabbing 6.3 rebounds per game.
Boston’s star wing has scored at least 30 points in all nine games he has played this month and has now been named the East’s Player of the Week twice in December — he also claimed the award on Dec. 8. Brown and Knicks point guard Jalen Brunson have traded the award back and forth in recent weeks, with no other Eastern Conference player winning it since Nov. 24.
LaMelo Ball (Hornets), Scottie Barnes (Raptors), Cade Cunningham (Pistons), Josh Giddey (Bulls), Michael Porter Jr. (Nets) and Karl-Anthony Towns (Knicks) were all nominated in the East.
RJ Barrett Considered Day-To-Day After Full Contact Work
5:50 pm: Lottery pick Murray-Boyles was actually a late scratch, per Murphy (Twitter link), so either his symptoms resurfaced or there was a miscommunication at some point.
5:15 pm: Raptors wing RJ Barrett has missed extended time due to a right knee sprain, but he’s inching closer to a return. Head coach Darko Rajakovic said Barrett was able to do full contact work on Friday and is progressing “really well,” according to Blake Murphy of Sportsnet.ca, who tweets that the Torontonian is now considered day-to-day.
Barrett was already ruled out of Friday’s contest at Washington, which will be his 15th straight absence. The 25-year-old guard/forward last played on November 23.
Barrett resumed on-court activities last week as he continues to ramp up toward his return. He received a PRP injection to promote healing in his injured knee earlier this month.
The No. 3 overall pick of the 2019 draft, Barrett was off to a solid start to 2025/26 prior to sustaining the injury on November 23 vs. Brooklyn. Through 17 games, he averaged 19.4 points, 4.8 rebounds and 3.8 assists in 30.9 minutes per contest, with a shooting line of .506/.356/.725.
Rajakovic said pregame that Scottie Barnes and Collin Murray-Boyles will be active on Friday, Murphy adds. Both forwards were battling illnesses, but they’re feeling better now. They were previously considered questionable.
Toronto is currently 18-13, the No. 4 seed in the East.
Raptors Notes: Poeltl, Frontcourt Depth, Barrett, Davis, Shooting
The Raptors have often been forced to play small-ball with center Jakob Poeltl sidelined by a back injury, The Athletic’s Eric Koreen notes. Power forwards Scottie Barnes, Collin Murray-Boyles and Sandro Mamukelashvili have been filling in during his absences and the results have been predictable.
With Poeltl out, Toronto lost to the Celtics last week while getting out-rebounded 55-37. Poeltl played just seven minutes on Sunday and the victorious Nets beat the Raptors on the boards, 48-39.
Poeltl has been nagged by back issues since the opening weeks of the season. He signed a three-year extension during the offseason.
“It’s pretty unpredictable. He goes in the game and is great in the game. He might wake up in the next morning feeling good or not feeling good. Same thing with practice,” Raptors coach Darko Rajakovic said. “We have a long-term plan for him which consists of managing his injury, which consists of building his strength, which consists of him playing through a certain level of pain. Long-term, we are not concerned at all. It’s just something we’re dealing with in the middle of the season. If it were the offseason and we were to shut him down for two weeks, he would be completely fine.”
Here’s more on the Raptors:
- Poeltl and RJ Barrett missed Tuesday’s game in Miami, Josh Lewenberg of TSN tweets. Poeltl was listed on the team’s injury report as having a lower back strain, instead of “injury management.” Barrett has been out since Nov. 23 due to a knee injury.
- Michael Grange of Sportsnet argues that the team needs to acquire depth at the center position rather than hoping Poeltl’s back issues subside. Grange doubts the Raptors will take a big swing and try to acquire Anthony Davis from the Mavericks, noting that Dallas may end up not trading the big man anyway. Grange believes Toronto’s front office should chase a reliable backup instead.
- Another approach the Raptors could take to address their frontcourt depth issues is to sign a free agent. Veteran Mo Bamba is currently toiling in the G League and Grange suggests that a 10-day contract next month might be a worthwhile pursuit (Twitter links).
- The Raptors could also use another shooter, Koreen writes in his latest mailbag. He suggests the Raptors pursue potentially available wings such as Quentin Grimes, Keon Ellis and Collin Sexton.
Raptors Notes: Giannis, AD, Trade Options, Barrett, Battle
The Raptors are one of only seven NBA teams that fully control all of their own future first-round picks, which is why they can’t be ruled out as a potential suitor for Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo, Mavericks big man Anthony Davis, or any other star who comes available in the future, according to Eric Koreen of The Athletic.
However, Koreen argues Toronto should avoid both Antetokounmpo and Davis because the Raptors still wouldn’t be good enough to contend for a title after the potential acquisition.
A deal for Antetokounmpo would likely start with the Bucks asking for Scottie Barnes and draft picks, Koreen writes, and while Barnes is probably unlikely to ever reach Antetokounmpo’s level as a perennial MVP candidate, he’s also nearly seven years younger, makes less money, and has a less extensive injury history. There’s also the significant question of whether Antetokounmpo or the Bucks would be open to the idea.
If Barnes isn’t involved, Koreen continues, the Raptors could try to offer a package of RJ Barrett, Jakob Poeltl, Collin Murray-Boyles and picks; ignoring whether the Bucks would accept such a trade, Toronto would be left without a true center, the team’s primary position of weakness, would have less depth, and fewer ways to improve the roster going forward.
Davis would certainly cost less to acquire from an asset standpoint, considering he’s older, less impactful, and has a longer injury history than Antetokounmpo, Koreen notes. But the trade would still require giving up two starters to make the money work, hurting the Raptors’ depth, and although Davis is obviously a major upgrade over Poeltl, he doesn’t like to play center and they share a couple of weaknesses (contract situations and injuries), Koreen observes.
Here’s more on the Raptors:
- Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca covers similar ground, writing that Davis would probably make more sense to pursue from a cost-acquisition standpoint, but noting that there are logical reasons why a deal might not appeal to Toronto, Dallas or Davis. While it remains to be seen whether or not the Raptors will target a major move, they will certainly be active ahead of the February 5 deadline — they’re currently less than $1MM above the luxury tax line and will undoubtedly dip below that threshold in some fashion, per Grange.
- As for potential trade targets, Grange suggests the Raptors try packaging some combination of Ochai Agbaji and other salaries to find a backup center who is also capable of filling in as a starter when Poeltl is unavailable, as Sandro Mamukelashvili is more of a “face-up power forward” than a true big man. The Raptors have expressed some interest in Davis’ teammate Daniel Gafford in the past, according to Grange, who says the “most enticing” hypothetical trade target might be Magic center Goga Bitadze. Grange lists five other big men the Raptors could consider as well.
- Barrett, who has been sidelined since November 23 due to a right knee sprain, will return to basketball activities sometime this week, the Raptors announced on Monday (Twitter link via Grange). Barrett received a PRP injection to promote healing in his knee last week. The Toronto native is the team’s third-leading scorer.
- Second-year sharpshooter Jamison Battle, who sprained his left ankle on Dec. 5 and missed the past two games, was active for Monday’s contest at Miami, tweets Zulfi Sheikh of Sportsnet. Battle is only averaging 8.1 minutes per game across 17 appearances, but he has been highly efficient offensively in a very small sample size; he is 12-for-15 on twos (80%) and 13-for-22 on threes (59.1%).
Raptors Notes: Recent Slide, Barnes, Ingram, Battle
The Raptors have lost four of their last five games and were pummeled by Charlotte on Friday, 111-86. Head coach Darko Rajakovic suggested after the blowout defeat that he felt the schedule caught up to his team — it was Toronto’s fifth game in seven nights.
“Physically, we were worn down,” Rajakovic said, per Josh Lewenberg of TSN (Twitter link). “I’m really proud of our guys tonight. We tried. But when you’re trying and you’re missing layups and wide open shots, it’s hard to keep it up. We didn’t quit. We continued fighting but we didn’t have enough in the tank.”
We have more on the Raptors:
- Rajakovic believes Scottie Barnes should be a contender for the Defensive Player of the Year award, per Lewenberg (Twitter link). “He’s guarding point guards, wings, fives. He’s doing it all,” the coach said. “There’s a reason why he was voted Defensive Player of the Month and he needs to be in consideration for Defensive Player of the Year. Obviously it’s early in the season but he’s trending that way.”
- Brandon Ingram has suffered a number of long-term injuries over the course of his career, but he’s not a fan of load management. He expects to play every night that he’s healthy this season, Lewenberg tweets. Ingram has appeared in all 24 of the Raptors’ games so far this season, averaging 20.8 points, 5.9 rebounds and 3.8 assists in 33.8 minutes per contest. “It’s intentional to not miss games because I have no reason to,” Ingram said. “If I hear from the training staff and they tell me my body doesn’t look good, I’ll listen. But so far, my body’s been feeling good. I’m doing everything in my control to be ready for games.”
- Jamison Battle suffered a left ankle sprain in Friday’s game. X-rays were negative and he’s considered day-to-day, Lewenberg tweets.
Nikola Jokic, Cade Cunningham Earn Player Of The Month Honors
Nuggets center Nikola Jokic and Pistons guard Cade Cunningham are the NBA’s Players of the Month for October/November, earning the honor for the Western and Eastern Conference, respectively, per an announcement from the league (Twitter link).
It’s the ninth time that Jokic has won a Player of the Month award over the course of his 11-year career. He earned it in this case with a superlative start to the season that saw him comfortably average a triple-double – 28.9 points, 12.4 rebounds, and 10.9 assists per game – while leading Denver to a 14-5 record.
Jokic’s shooting percentages were arguably even more remarkable than his per-game averages, as he shot 63.7% from the field and converted 45.3% of his three-point attempts.
The Nuggets star came out on top of a competitive field that included nominees like fellow MVP candidates Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of the Thunder and Luka Doncic of the Lakers. Clippers guard James Harden, Rockets center Alperen Sengun, Trail Blazers forward Deni Avdija, Lakers guard Austin Reaves, and Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards were also nominated for Player of the Month in the West, according to the NBA (Twitter link).
In the East, meanwhile, Cunningham’s Pistons have been one of the most pleasant surprises of the season’s first six weeks. While Detroit was viewed as a strong playoff contender, few NBA observers expected the team to win 16 of its first 20 games and sit atop the Eastern Conference at the end of November.
Cunningham was the driving force behind the Pistons’ hot start, averaging 28.8 points, 9.4 assists, and 6.4 rebounds in 36.8 minutes per game across 17 outings, while shooting 45.6% from the floor and 81.5% from the free throw line.
Raptors forward Scottie Barnes, Celtics wing Jaylen Brown, Bulls guard Josh Giddey, Hawks forward Jalen Johnson, Sixers guard Tyrese Maxey, Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell, Heat guard Norman Powell, Magic forward Franz Wagner, and Knicks teammates Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns were also nominated for Eastern Conference Player of the Month, which Cunningham won for the first time in his career.
Scottie Barnes, Cason Wallace Named Defensive Players Of The Month
Raptors forward Scottie Barnes is the Eastern Conference Defensive Player of the Month for October/November, while Thunder guard Cason Wallace won the award for the Western Conference, according to an announcement from the NBA (Twitter link).
Barnes led the surprising Raptors to a 14-7 record through the end of November, and the team posted the NBA’s sixth-best defensive rating (111.5) during that time. According to the league, the versatile 6’8″ forward ranked fourth in the East in deflections in October/November (4.0 per game) and was the only player in the NBA to rack up at least 30 steals and 30 blocks.
Wallace, meanwhile, is one of many standout defenders on a dominant Thunder team that went 20-1 with a remarkable 103.6 defensive rating in October/November. Oklahoma City was three-and-a-half games better than any other NBA club during that time, and its defensive rating was nearly seven points per 100 possessions better than that of the second-place Rockets (110.3).
While the Thunder’s defensive performance is a team effort, Wallace led the NBA in steals per game (2.2) to open the season and also had more deflections per game (5.0) than any other player in the West, despite playing a relatively modest 28.6 minutes per contest.
It’s the first time that either Barnes or Wallace has won the Defensive Player of the Month award, which was introduced at the start of last season. According to the NBA (Twitter link), the other players nominated in the East were Cavaliers forward Evan Mobley, Heat big man Bam Adebayo, Hawks guard Dyson Daniels, and Pistons big man Isaiah Stewart — Mobley and Daniels each earned Defensive Player of the Month recognition twice last season.
In the West, Wallace’s Thunder teammates Luguentz Dort and Chet Holmgren were also nominated. Rockets guard Amen Thompson was the only non-OKC nominee in the conference.
Raptors Advance To NBA Cup Quarterfinals
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
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.”
Nikola Jokic, Jalen Johnson Named Players Of The Week
Nuggets center Nikola Jokic has been named the Western Conference Player of the Week, while Hawks forward Jalen Johnson has won the award in the East, the NBA announced on Monday (via Twitter).
Jokic, who won the weekly honor in the West for the second straight time (19th overall), had another phenomenal week, even by his lofty standards. He led Denver to three road victories, averaging 39.0 points, 13.0 rebounds, 8.0 assists and 1.7 steals on .737/.643/.889 shooting splits.
Jokic’s week was highlighted by a 55-point outburst against the Clippers in which he recorded 52 points, 11 rebounds and six assists through only three quarters, the first player to have such a stat line through three periods since the NBA began play-by-play tracking in 1997/98, per the Nuggets. He notched another three points and one rebound in two-plus minutes in the fourth, shooting 18-of-23 from the field, 5-of-6 from three, and 14-of-16 from the line in 34 minutes.
The Nuggets have won seven straight games and are currently 10-2, only trailing the 13-1 Thunder in the West. Jokic, a three-time MVP who finished as the runner-up in the two seasons he didn’t win the award over the past five years, is averaging career highs in several statistical categories in 2025/26.
Johnson had a spectacular stretch of games himself in winning his first Player of the Week award. The 23-year-old guided Atlanta to a perfect 4-0 record on the team’s Western Conference road trip, the first time the Hawks have gone undefeated on a West trip spanning at least four games since 1970/71. He averaged 24.0 points, 12.0 rebounds, 9.3 assists and 2.5 steals on .603/.571/.783 shooting.
Johnson had a historic stat line on Thursday in Utah, recording career highs in points (31), rebounds (18), assists (14) and steals (seven), the first player to meet all of those statistical benchmarks in a game since steals became an official stat in ’73/74. The Hawks are now 9-5, tied for the No. 3 seed in the East.
According to the NBA (Twitter link), the other nominees in the West were Stephen Curry, Luka Doncic, Anthony Edwards, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, James Harden, Lauri Markkanen and Alperen Sengun. Giannis Antetokounmpo, Scottie Barnes, Jaylen Brown, Pistons two-way guard Daniss Jenkins, Karl-Anthony Towns and Franz Wagner were nominated in the East.