After 32 games, the Toronto Raptors sit atop the NBA standings. As far as individual achievements are concerned, the team fields a handful of worthy candidates.
Last year, the Toronto Raptors had a trio of members that received votes for NBA yearly awards. DeMar DeRozan and Fred VanVleet were both given votes for various awards, with DeRozan getting a nomination for MVP and Most Improved Player, while VanVleet was in the Sixth Man of the Year conversation.
The Raptors’ lone winner was Dwayne Casey, who received 39 first-place votes en route to Coach of the Year. Despite his victory, Casey was ousted after the team once again fell to LeBron James by way of a sweep.
With the departure of both DeRozan and Casey – replaced by Kawhi Leonard and Nick Nurse – the team has once again sat atop the Eastern Conference, with an accomplished 23-9 record.
On the year, the Raptors have registered a top-seven mark in both offensive and defensive rating, with the former sitting at second in the league (113).
Also new to the team is Nurse’s pace and space system.
The renewed emphasis on spreading the ball around has led to five Raptors tallying double-digit scoring per game. Just below the threshold are Danny Green (9.8) and Fred VanVleet (9.7). Along with the scoring increase individually, the team has scored at a 54.9-EFG percentage, good for third in the league.
Ahead is a look at the players and coach that have led the way for the league’s top team thus far.