Grading every Toronto Raptors player after turbulent 2022-23 season
By Mike Luciano
The Toronto Raptors are gearing up for a very impactful play-in tournament one-and-done matchup against the Chicago Bulls. The winner of this game will have the opportunity to sneak into the postseason, while the loser will start firing up Tankathon simulations and look forward to the future.
The Raptors came in at a less than inspiring 41-41 this season, which is a steep drop-off from last season, where they won 48 games and earned the No. 5 seed. In totality, it’s hard to classify this campaign (which may be Nick Nurse’s last such with the Raptors, as anything other than a disappointment.
Still, painting the entire team with that broad of a brush is unfair. While many players put forth disappointing seasons, it was many of the less heralded Raptors who actually managed to put together impressive campaigns.
With the regular season officially in the past as Toronto looks to squeak out some degree of respectability in the last few gasps of the 2022-23 campaign, it’s time to see how every player performed, identify which names deserve praise, and find which deserve shame.
Grading every Toronto Raptors player after the 2022-23 season.
Guards
Jeff Dowtin: A-
Gary Trent Jr: B+
Fred VanVleet: C+
Will Barton: C
Malachi Flynn: C-
Dalano Banton: D+
Dowtin, who was not signed to a proper contract despite playing excellent backup point guard minutes, grading higher than both VanVleet and Trent is certainly a surprise. While Trent continued to pile up the points despite having his role change every two weeks, VanVleet was less consistent.
He still hit his fair share of clutch shots, but his overall poor efficiency and puzzling shot selection made this season a tough ride for VanVleet. A potential free agent, there is a good chance that we have seen the last of him in Toronto after such a storied career.
Fred VanVleet struggled at times for the Toronto Raptors.
Barton had some nice games, but they were fewer and farther between than Toronto likely wanted. Trent was often left to pick up the slack off the bench, as Barton looked like a player that is finally starting to show his age following a terrific career.
Both Flynn and Banton were given chances to secure the backup point guard spot behind VanVleet, and both of them performed so poorly that Dowtin overtook them. It remains to be seen if either of them will return next season, given how up-and-down their performances were.