Raptors add groundbreaking 5-star recruit to G League team

The Toronto Raptors pay as much attention to their G League affiliate as any team in the league, and for good reason. Toronto is heavily invested in their player development, as they are willing to unturn every stone out there in order to find promising young players.

Former Howard big man Makur Maker, like his cousins before him, has so much basic physical talent that teams will always be willing to roll the dice on him in the slight chance they will be the team that unlocks his potential. The Washington Wizards tried and failed in that regard.

The Raptors may have already lost out on retaining the G League rights to Jeff Dowtin if he doesn’t make the roster, but that doesn’t mean they have sworn off their practice of rolling the dice on promising youngsters. Maker, one of the best young forwards in the G League, is headed to Mississauga.

Raptors 905 acquired Maker from the Capital City Go-Go in exchange for the rights to sharpshooting wing Ryan Hawkins and 905’s first-round pick in the 2024 G League draft. From a G League perspective, that is a ton of resources Toronto just allocated to Maker.

Toronto Raptors: Makur Maker joining Raptors 905.

Maker, a top recruit like his cousins Makur and Thon Maker (who was a top 10 draft pick once upon a time), became the highest-rated prospect in the modern recruiting era to commit to a historically Black college or university (HBCU). Maker’s trailblazing decision didn’t live up to the hype, however.

Maker played in just two games for the Bison before a groin injury ruled him out for the rest of his lone collegiate season. He decided to follow in his cousin’s footsteps and head to Australia, playing with the Sydney Kings for a year before returning to the DMV area.

In 30 games with the Go-Go, Maker averaged 7.5 points per game on 43/34/86 shooting splits to go along with 5.5 rebounds per game. If Toronto is looking solely based on long-term potential, Maker clearly exceeds whatever Hawkins could bring to the table.

There is an NBA player housed somewhere deep within Maker, and it will be on the Raptors to make sure they can tap into that vast reservoir of talent. If they can strike gold, there is an outside shot that Maker can finally realize his NBA dreams.

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