Alright, it might be a little easier said than done, but there is definitely a chance that coach Darko Rajakovic can find his way into the conversation for the NBA's Coach of the Year award. One Raptors reporter is confidently betting on that happening, as Es Baraheni of The Athletic discussed in a recent podcast episode.
The episode focused on predictions for the 2025-26 NBA awards, and when it came to Coach of the Year, Baraheni used his platform to highlight Rajakovic’s strong possibility of being in the race. He mentioned that this is especially likely if certain factors come into play, saying (YouTube link here):
Raptors analyst believes Darko Rajakovic has "clear path" to Coach of the Year award
"... I think Darko Rajakovic for the Toronto Raptors has a pretty decent chance, especially if we're talking about bucking expectations, because this is a team that is expected to win like 38, 39 [games]. Most people slate them as like the nine or ten seed, maybe eleven seed ... Look, I think I'm definitely more optimistic on the Toronto Raptors than most people, but I think a lot of that has to do with their coaching. And I think Darko [Rajakovic] is a really good coach. He runs a good offensive system. He gets the most out of his younger players. I think he has a pretty good chance if the Raptors, again, a team who won 30 games last year. If they end up winning, like I said, 45 games, that's a 15 win improvement. Coach of the Year. It's a pretty clear path if that happens. But something along the lines of that, if they improve by like 10 or more games, win-wise, I think Darko has a pretty good chance."Es Baraheni, Oct 14, 2025
In recent years, the NBA Coach of the Year winners have generally been coaches of teams that completely outperformed their competition, such as the Cleveland Cavaliers last season, the OKC Thunder in 2023-24, and the Phoenix Suns in 2021-22. But also in the midst of those powerhouses, Tom Thibodeau earned the award in 2020-21 after leading a mediocre New York Knicks back to prominence, and Mike Brown took it in the 2022-23 season after ending a years-long drought with the "Light the Beam" Sacramento Kings.
Now, opinions might vary on whether these coaches truly deserve to be considered the NBA's best that season, since the award often reflects a recency bias (hence why it's a yearly award). It tends to go to those who can exceed expectations, make their team look the most dominant, or show a clear improvement from previous seasons.
I think, not just when it comes to the COY award, but also when considering recent Eastern Conference teams that have suddenly broken out, there’s always been one team that stands out in those conversations. A while back, it was the up-and-coming Orlando Magic, and just last season, it was the well-balanced Detroit Pistons, even if their coaches didn’t get the honor (they finished as runners-up). The Toronto Raptors are very much in a position to be similar to those teams, and as Baraheni believes, Darko Rajakovic is able to foster a sense of drive and determination within his young core.
The formula is pretty simple: if the Raptors can somehow improve their win total by 10 to 15 games, there’s no doubt he’ll be a top name in the COY discussions. It would be hard to argue against that possibility, given the Raptors' new inclusion of a superb scoring threat in Brandon Ingram, along with factors like a weakened Eastern Conference, a wealth of emerging young talent, or the team turning over a new leaf in terms of health.