After their first playoff run since the 2021-22 season, the Raptors want to tread a fine line. On one hand, players and fans want to see the team build on the success of finishing fifth in the Eastern Conference and taking the Cavs to seven games in the first round. On the other hand, the front office shouldn’t be too trigger-happy with its carefully accumulated trade chips and make a big splash that could end up backfiring.
There is no denying that the Raptors need an infusion of offensive creation and 3-point shooting. However, given how many players they already have under contract and how many of those contracts could be difficult to move this offseason, that may not be as easy to come by as it sounds.
So, even if the front office is gearing up for a move or two to bring in offensive help, pretty much every Raptors player should get in the gym and work on their 3-point shot this offseason. Any improvement in that area from players already on the roster will go a long way.
Internal improvement isn’t everything, but it matters
The Raptors finished the season 21st in 3-point percentage and 26th in 3-point attempts per game. That’s a lack of reliable volume shooting that you don’t fix solely through internal improvement. But getting more 3-point shooting out of the players already on the team will still be valuable.
Luckily, there is potential for internal improvements. Ja’Kobe Walter played his best NBA basketball yet in the second half of the regular season. If he can sink 3-pointers and defend at the same level for an entire season, he will be the perfect role player next to the Raptors’ stars. Likewise, Jamison Battle is known as a knock-down shooter, but can he put in the work this offseason to earn Darko Rajaković’s trust as a reliable rotational player?
Other players already have that trust, but could be even better with a more reliable 3-point shot. Scottie Barnes, for example, just played his best all-around season and capped it off with an incredible playoff run that saw him shoot 38.1% on three 3-point attempts per game—way above his career average of 30.1%.
While that level of 3-point shooting doesn’t seem sustainable for a whole season, Barnes would be absolutely unguardable if he got his shooting average up to around 34 or 35%. It would also make the frontcourt fit with Jakob Poeltl and Collin Murray-Boyles smoother, especially considering that Rajaković said in his end-of-season interview that he didn’t consider 3-point shooting an offseason priority for Murray-Boyles yet.
RJ Barrett, meanwhile, put together his worst 3-point shooting season since the 2023-24 campaign. He shot 33.9% on five attempts per game compared to 35% and 36% on similar volume in the previous two seasons. Getting back to that 35% mark may not seem like it would make a big difference, but every improvement, no matter how small, matters for a team that needs 3-point shooting as desperately as the Raptors.
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