Darko Rajakovic received one point in the 2025-26 NBA Coach of the Year voting. Joe Mazzulla very deservedly took home the award after leading the Boston Celtics to 56 wins without Jayson Tatum. Still, Rajakovic deserved a lot of credit for helping the Raptors go from a 30-52 losing record to the fifth-best record in the Eastern Conference. They won 16 more games than in the 2024-25 season.
This season, he could have a stronger case. Zach Lowe and Howard Beck both picked him as their early Coach of the Year prediction on the September 24 episode of The Zach Lowe Show. The Raptors could soar up the standings and into Eastern Conference contention with Leonard at the helm. However, the addition of Leonard could also hurt Rajakovic’s Coach of the Year case.
“Here’s what he has going against him,” Lowe said about Rajakovic’s case. “If the Raptors exceed expectations, how much of the credit is given to Kawhi Leonard as the new addition?”
On the bright side, Lowe also noted, “But I also think the Raptors flew so under the radar last year…that if they won 52 games this year, everybody would get a lot of credit, including Darko Rajakovic.”
The Raptors are betting on Rajakovic just as much as on their young players
Trading for Kawhi Leonard is a massive bet on Scottie Barnes, Collin Murray-Boyles, Ja’Kobe Walter, and Jamal Shead. All four of them need to be ready for the next level, even though the latter three are just entering their second and third seasons in the NBA.
It is also a bet that Darko Rajakovic is ready for the same leap. He will have to meet higher expectations than ever as the Raptors’ head coach, figure out how to maximize the potential of the Leonard-Barnes pairing, navigate the problems that would come with another subpar season from Jakob Poeltl, and usher the younger players into the next phase of their careers.
The Raptors seem confident that Rajakovic can do just that. They signed him to a multi-year contract extension in July.
Rajakovic for Coach of the Year is just one award the Raptors can aim for
Lowe and Beck also mentioned Collin Murray-Boyles as a potential Sixth Man of the Year candidate on the same podcast episode. Murray-Boyles is expected to come off the bench behind Poeltl, but should also close many games and be the Raptors’ leading scorer in the second unit. If the Raptors win plenty of games and he puts up big numbers—he won’t just score a lot, but should also rebound well and rack up steals and blocks—Murray-Boyles could easily be in the running.
Moreover, Scottie Barnes could make a run for Defensive Player of the Year. The award will be Victor Wembanyama’s to lose for the next few years, but if he continues to struggle with availability, Barnes could swoop in as one of the most versatile and impactful defenders in the league. The fact that the Raptors should be one of the best defensive teams in the NBA will only help his case.
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