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Jamal Shead must fix notable second-year drop-off in third Raptors season

He needs to score more efficiently.
ByElaine Blum|
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Apr 29, 2026; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Toronto Raptors guard Jamal Shead (23) brings the ball up court against the Cleveland Cavaliers in the first quarter of game five of the first round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs at Rocket Arena. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-Imagn Images
Apr 29, 2026; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Toronto Raptors guard Jamal Shead (23) brings the ball up court against the Cleveland Cavaliers in the first quarter of game five of the first round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs at Rocket Arena. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Jamal Shead’s second season with the Raptors was quite a change from his rookie season. The Raptors had much higher ambitions than their 11th-place finish in the 2024-25 season, which increased the pressure on Shead as the primary backup point guard behind Immanuel Quickley. On top of that, Shead was pushed into an enormous role in the playoffs, averaging the third-most minutes behind Scottie Barnes and RJ Barrett and starting several games with Quickley and Brandon Ingram sidelined. 

Shead delivered as a passer, averaging 5.4 assists per game in the regular season and 5 in the playoffs, and made an impact as a perimeter defender. It was a rough season scoring-wise, however, and he needs to work on that as he’s entering his third Raptors season with a team that has even higher expectations now. 

Shead struggled with shooting inefficiency last season

Shead shot 40.5% from the field and 32.3% from deep as a rookie. His attempts in his second season stayed roughly the same. He averaged 6.1 field goal attempts compared to 6.7 as a rookie and 0.2 more 3-point attempts. His field-goal efficiency, however, plummeted. Shead shot just 36.7% from the field while maintaining his roughly 32% shooting from deep. 

Most of Shead’s non-3-point shot attempts (112) came in the paint outside of the restricted area, per the NBA’s tracking page. He made just 34.4% of those shots. He also took 211 above the break 3s and made 33.2% of them. He shot worse from the corners (8-27 from the right corner and 6-24 from the left).

With Kawhi Leonard hopefully back in Toronto and Scottie Barnes, RJ Barrett, and Immanuel Quickley ready to take on big scoring loads, Shead won’t have to score a whole lot for the Raptors to win, but he needs to at least make a respectable percentage of the shots he gets. 

Shead will play an important role next season

The Raptors loaded up at the forward spots with the Kawhi Leonard trade (if it goes through), as well as by signing Kyle Anderson and drafting Allen Graves. Their guard rotation, on the other hand, looks just as thin as it was last season. 

Immanuel Quickley will start at the point guard spot, and Shead will be the primary backup. Other than that, the Raptors have second-round pick Jaden Bradley and Chucky Hepburn signed to two-way contracts, and Alijah Martin. 

That’s not a lot of proven depth, and Shead is just one Immanuel Quickley injury away from having to fill a bigger role and having to take more shots. If that happens, the Raptors need to be confident that he can score at a decent level. 

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