Ja'Kobe Walter seizes the moment in game-changing Raptors showcase

Yesterday, I highlighted how in the aftermath of RJ Barrett's injury news (though relatively unserious), it put the spotlight on several of the Raptors' young bucks to step up and use it as a proving ground in his absence. More specifically, I called out Ochai Agbaji, Gradey Dick, and Ja'Kobe Walter.

The Raptors were able to rally past the Indiana Pacers in a thrilling contest, where a huge game-winner by clutch hero Brandon Ingram sealed Toronto's ninth-straight victory. While Ingram would be the talk of the town as Toronto's saving grace at the end, it somewhat overshadowed Ja'Kobe Walter's brilliance.

Early in the game against the Pacers, Gradey Dick suffered an unfortunate, scary fall after crashing the glass for a rebound in the closing seconds of the first quarter, forcing Toronto to write him off as a precaution. Dick was looking solid in his minutes up until that point, with three rebounds, one assist, one steal, and one block. But when one of the guys needed to provide a boost was written out of the equation — in stepped Walter to save the day and assert his energy for Toronto.

Walter logged a season-high 32 minutes and 28 seconds on November 26, during which he scored 13 points. He shot 5-for-10 from the field, 3-for-5 from three, and also contributed four rebounds, one assist, and two steals. But it was his team-high +21 plus/minus that really separates Walter from the pack; he really helped swing the pendulum in Toronto's favor here, and in the aftermath, the Raptors sophomore would be gifted the team's post-game "Win the Day" chain.

Ja'Kobe Walter was a huge difference-maker in Raptors' win over Pacers

Coach Darko Rajakovic made sure to shout out the 21-year-old's performance in his post-game media availability, saying: "And also, I got to point out that Ja'Kobe [Walter] did really, really good job [sic] today and he was the guy that really gave us an energy there and then kept us in game when things were not going our way."

Speaking further on the growing impact of Ja'Kobe Walter this year, his improvements, with a seemingly increasing role after it looked like he was stuck in roster purgatory early on, Rajakovic commented (YouTube link here):

"... He's the kid that puts a lot of work in. He's getting better opportunities there. He knows that we have his back. He's our product, product of this organization. So, he understands the culture and how we want to play, importance of defense, and he brings that juice to the team every day. So, really, really happy for him."

Darko Rajakovic, Nov 26, 2025

Walter showed that he has a balanced attack of defensive versatility and offensive spark, and it was beyond huge for the Raptors. He even ended up snatching minutes right out of rookie Collin Murray-Boyles' hands after such a stellar effort. Pay attention to this Walter stat: in his last eight appearances for the Raptors, he's recorded 15 steals.

Walter might not have the most consistent role just yet, but even in his small sample, he's shooting an efficient 44.4 percent from the field, a strong 42.9 percent from three, and a helpful 1.1 steals per game in 14.8 minutes of action. It’s encouraging to see once again that theRaptors’ defining quality to call on the next man up is far from broken, and like coach Rajakovic said, Ja'Kobe Walter is still one of those guys with a ton of "juice" in the tank.