The addition of Brandon Ingram has been substantial for the 2025-26 Raptors season thus far.
Ingram has scored 20 or more points in eight of the thirteen Raptors games this year. His season averages to date are 20.4 points on 49.3 percent field goal shooting, 25.5 percent from three, 88.3 percent from the free-throw line, 6.0 rebounds, 3.8 assists, and nearly one steal per game (0.9).
That shaky three-point percentage does leave a lot to be desired, especially considering he's 3-for-25 on his attempts from beyond the arc in the last five Raptors contests. Despite this undesirable statistic, Ingram's ability to serve as a reliable scoring threat, particularly as a mid-range virtuoso, gives Toronto an edge they simply did not have in previous years. And in conjunction with Ingram's solid start to the year, the Raptors have also been quickly picking up steam lately, after things appeared to be dire for Toronto in their first five contests when they went 1-4.
Discussing the recent Raptors upswing for The Athletic NBA Daily, team insider Eric Koreen joined Dave DuFour and Es Baraheni on a YouTube episode titled "What’s behind the Raptors’ improvement this season? + Rookie Rankings." Koreen had the following comments to say about how Brandon Ingram's enlistment has allowed their other star, Scottie Barnes, to also take over exponentially (YouTube link here).
Brandon Ingram's contribution fuels Scottie Barnes and the Raptors
"... I think this is the best case you can make for the Brandon Ingram trade. And like I'll admit, I was a skeptic. They're 7-5. I'm still a skeptic to some degree, like that contract is a lot, even though like Brandon Ingram has played fine. It's not about anybody's individual play. More so, it's the economics and the long-term fit. But the best case for it was it would take some of the half court creation off of Scottie Barnes' plate ... Scottie Barnes is playing a 94-foot game and against Cleveland and at his best this year is just like dominated for 94-feet and really encouraged the Raptors to run. They had 28 points in fast break points against Cleveland. They lead the league in that metric this year, and he is a huge reason why."Eric Koreen, Nov 14, 2025
That line Koreen says about "It's not about anybody's individual play" perfectly captures the 2025-26 season so far. The Raptors recently led the NBA in assists per game until the Miami Heat overtook them. Toronto remains in second place with an average of 30.2 assists per game, just behind Miami's 30.4. Everyone is "eating," if you will, and while there was concern that Ingram's assimilation could significantly impact others like RJ Barrett and Scottie Barnes, another recent statistic showed that Toronto was also doing just fine in that regard — even if Barrett has fallen below a 20 PPG average at the time of writing.
Like Koreen mentions, the Raptors are playing quickly and running into transition at a league-high rate. While much of the praise goes to Scottie Barnes, it is important to note that this success would not have been possible without the additional boost from Brandon Ingram. Ingram hasn't been completely flawless, sure, but he is doing exactly what Toronto needed to make life easier for Scottie Barnes.