I’ll be keeping a very close eye on Ja’Kobe Walter heading into the 2026–27 Raptors season. He’s been one of my favorite players on the team since his rookie year, when his energy and hustle immediately stood out and made him a name to watch.
Walter’s steady improvement in production and efficiency is another reason to keep an eye on him. Most notably, he’s raised his three-point percentage from 35% in his rookie season to 41% in year two. Walter also brings that same drive on defense, where he’s becoming one of the team’s peskiest defenders.
His activity on that end has been trending up, too: he averaged 0.8 steals in year one and 1.0 in year two. Alongside youngsters like the transformed Collin Murray-Boyles, the recently-extended Jamal Shead, and even Jamison Battle, it could be the Raptors’ new blood rising through the ranks that swings the 2026–27 season.
Scottie Barnes and Kawhi Leonard are sure to lead the charge and draw the focus, but these other faces will be key to fueling the engine. Heading into his third season with the Raps, Walter seems to have lofty goals as a defender, judging by his recent comments in a post-practice media scrum — and that should fit right in with this defense-first Raptors team.
Ja’Kobe Walter envisions a defensive leap, with aspirations of leading the league in steals
“I want to take my defense to another level. It's a goal of mine to be top in the league in steals. I want to be a top defender known as that. I feel like me personally, I don't get a lot of credit for it, you know, the way that other people get credit. So, I think just not even from me, just for the whole team. We just trying to show people, how elite we are on defense. We trying to be the top team. So, the goal is just be better defensively. Continue to just make winning plays, do whatever I can, but at the end of the day, I just want to create chaos on the court,” said Ja’Kobe Walter on October 2.
Even before the Darko Rajaković/Bobby Webster era, as the team was led by Nick Nurse and Masai Ujiri, the Raptors’ calling card was their commitment to defense — and the grit it takes to be effective on that end. Defense is the focal point of this team’s culture. You could be an impressive offensive talent, but it’s your contributions on defense that really matters and what keeps you on the floor. Just look at what Coach Darko said about a specialist shooter like Jamison Battle at Media Day: he was impressed by improvements as a defender, which should only add even more value to his game.
Put simply, if you don’t buy into the Raptors’ all-in focus on being elite defensively, you risk getting passed by. Ja’Kobe Walter, in every sense, fits the mold of a winning player. That’s another sign he could be one of Toronto’s most apparent breakout candidates for the 2026–27 campaign. The confidence is there, and he already passes the eye test. And it certainly helps that Walter appears bulkier (and reportedly taller, too) as he heads into the new season, which should make him an even more threatening presence on that end of the floor.
Now it’s all about whether he can deliver on his promise. It’s a lofty goal, sure, but not impossible. If Walter can grind his way to more minutes, a bigger role, and stay healthy for extended stretches — who’s to say he can’t get there?
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