Jamison Battle should have a bigger role than waiting for him this season. The Raptors need to improve their 3-point shooting and spacing, and Battle is one of the best shooters on the roster. He shot 40.5% on 4.4 attempts in his rookie season. His role greatly diminished last season, but he still shot 41.2% from deep for the season and made an impact when he got the chance. For example, he went 4-for-4 from 3-point range in Game 3 of the playoffs, helping the Raptors to their first win of the series.
But 3-point shooting alone is generally not enough to stick in Darko Rajakovic’s rotation. Battle will need to defend well enough to stay on the floor to help the Raptors improve their spacing.
During Raptors media day, Rajakovic shared an encouraging assessment of Battle’s defense.
“I thought this summer, just watching Jamison Battle, he improved a lot,” Rajakovic said when listing a few Raptors players who he expects to be better defensively this season.
The Raptors could really use Battle’s 3-point shooting
The Raptors are adding an excellent 3-point shooter with Kawhi Leonard, but that trade also cost them Brandon Ingram, who was one of their more efficient outside shooters last season. Even with Leonard back in Toronto, the Raptors are short on reliable 3-point shooters.
That lack of 3-point shooting was one of their biggest weaknesses last season. They finished 26th in made 3-pointers per game. The only other playoff team that made fewer is the Detroit Pistons.
Being able to trust Battle to play more consistent minutes would help with that. When he played around 17 minutes per game in the 2024-25 season, he was good for almost two made 3-pointers per game.
He is also 6’7”. Having a 3-point shooter at that height will give the Raptors some lineup versatility they lost when Sandro Mamukelashvili signed with the Los Angeles Lakers in free agency. Neither Scottie Barnes nor Collin Murray-Boyles has been a good 3-point shooter so far, and rookie Allen Graves is entirely unproven in the NBA. He shot the three well in summer league but still needs to show that he can do the same against faster, better defenders.
To start the season, Battle should be somewhere at nine or ten in the rotation behind Immanuel Quickley, RJ Barrett, Kawhi Leonard, Scottie Barnes, Jakob Poeltl, Collin Murray-Boyles, Ja’Kobe Walter, and Jamal Shead. However, if Allen Graves can knock down 3-pointers and be the defensive disruptor he’s promised to be, he could quickly challenge Battle for minutes.
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