When the Raptors finally parted ways with franchise legend Kyle Lowry in the 2021 offseason, Toronto completed a sign-and-trade with the Miami Heat that brought veteran Goran Dragic and young forward Precious Achiuwa up north.
Dragic quickly became a non-factor, showing little urgency to play for a team he believed was far from his "higher ambitions," and soon he became public enemy number one in Toronto at that time. In fact, I just highlighted how Dragic reached the final showdown for the most disliked Toronto athlete of the last 25 years, with Raptors legend Vince Carter ultimately taking that spot.
But Achiuwa, on the other hand, presented intrigue for Raptors fans, and I was definitely excited to see what he could bring to Toronto. As a guy just entering his second NBA season, his rookie campaign in Miami wasn’t anything special, but I had high hopes that Achiuwa would fit well within Toronto’s emerging young core — alongside guys like Scottie Barnes, OG Anunoby, and Gary Trent Jr. — with experienced vets like Fred VanVleet and Pascal Siakam still in the mix.
Achiuwa had his highlights — earning a starting role in Toronto and being named to the 2022 Rising Stars Game — but it quickly became clear that he wouldn't be the breakout star many hoped would emerge from the Kyle Lowry trade.
What happened to former Raptors player Precious Achiuwa?
Although there was hope he could develop into one of the Raptors' top defenders, there was still a lot of work to do before he could become a real threat. I remember the growing frustration among fans over some of Achiuwa's poor basketball IQ and limitations as a big man. His focus on improving his three-point shooting was commendable, but he often went through stretches where his shot was simply ineffective.
When Achiuwa was tapped in, he looked like he had something brewing, but when he tried to do too much ... you'd be left scratching your head in disbelief. And simply put, his inconsistency and fading shine made him expendable, leading Toronto to include him, along with fellow fading Raptors prospect Malachi Flynn, in the blockbuster OG Anunoby-New York Knicks trade.
Funny enough, following Achiuwa's first couple of appearances in New York, I wrote about how Knicks fans sounded fed up, just like Raptors fans once did after experiencing the Precious Achiuwa rollercoaster. But irony aside, Achiuwa eventually found a role in the Knicks system off the bench, averaging 24.2 minutes in his first year and 20.5 minutes in the recent 2024-25 season.
Though he entered the 2025 offseason as an unrestricted free agent, the 25-year-old still remains unsigned by any NBA team at the time of writing. The Knicks have essentially moved on from him, and in the dying stages of the offseason, Achiuwa is still waiting for a call — a sign that doesn’t look good for his career. Although, I wouldn’t say with certainty right now that Achiuwa’s NBA journey is over after just five seasons, as he could still be picked up by a team in need of big-man depth, like say the Warriors or Celtics.
But I think Achiuwa’s career serves as a prime example of how quickly a promising developmental piece can fall off and become an afterthought in the NBA.