The Raptors made a big splash at last year’s trade deadline when they traded for Brandon Ingram. The front office clearly believed he could raise this team’s ceiling, backing that up with a three-year, $120 million contract extension. We never saw him in a Raptors uniform last season due to injury, but he’s played every game so far in Toronto’s 9-5 start.
Initial concerns about Brandon Ingram
I was nervous when the Raptors first made the trade because Ingram has had a complicated NBA journey. In New Orleans, he proved he could score, averaging around 23 points per game over six seasons. My concern wasn’t whether Ingram could put the ball in the basket — it was how he did it, and how that would mesh with the Raptors’ needs.
Last year, Toronto finished second-last in three-pointers made across the entire NBA. Ingram is a very respectable 37% career three-point shooter, but only 25.1% of his shots come from beyond the arc. The NBA average last season was 42.1% of shots coming from three. I didn’t think Ingram’s shot profile would solve the team’s biggest issue.
What are the early season returns?
Through 14 games, Ingram is doing exactly what his résumé suggests: he’s leading the Raptors in scoring at 20.9 points per game. One thing I clearly underrated when the trade happened was the value of having a true “give him the ball and let him go to work” scorer. It has been a pleasure watching him get to his spots in isolation.
According to NBA.com, Ingram ranks 20th in the league in points per possession in isolation. When he goes one-on-one, he’s one of the better iso scorers in the NBA.
Having someone who can score like that opens the floor for Toronto’s other weapons as well, and is probably part of the reason Scottie Barnes and RJ Barrett have had strong efficiency numbers to start the year. According to NBA.com, Toronto’s offensive rating when Ingram is on the court is 119.7 — meaning the Raptors score 119.7 points per 100 possessions in his minutes, the best mark on the team.
My initial concerns about his shot profile still exist. Ingram isn’t taking many threes, and a lot of his possessions end in tough mid-range jumpers. He excels at those shots, but they’re still some of the most difficult attempts in basketball and can make the offense feel cramped on a team that already struggles with three-point volume. His career numbers suggest he’s a very good three-point shooter, which is why it’s hard not to imagine how much more he could help if more of those isolations turned into catch-and-shoot threes.
What does this mean going forward?
There’s no doubt that trading for Brandon Ingram and immediately signing him to a massive extension came with risk. Short of landing one of the five best players in the league, any star you trade for is going to have flaws. Despite Ingram’s flaws, he has been a huge part of the Raptors’ best start in years. His ability to score and the attention he commands from defenses have helped ignite the Toronto offense.
If the coaching staff can nudge his style away from pure isolation and more towards movement, then he might be able to elevate Toronto’s offense to another mode. For now, it’s fair to say fans should be excited about what Ingram has given the team so far. The front office took a risk with this move, and the first 14 games make me glad they decided to take that risk.
All stats are courtesy of Basketball-Reference unless noted otherwise.