There is no clear go-to guy on the Toronto Raptors. That could be viewed as a big problem; without an obvious No. 1 option, the hierarchy of a team can get jumbled. But it can also be considered an advantage, because the Raptors have plenty of capable scorers, as we saw in their season-opening win on Wednesday night. Brandon Ingram had 16 points, Gradey Dick had 21, Scottie Barnes had 22, and RJ Barrett led the way with 25.
How many other teams in the East have five legit contenders to lead the team in scoring (if you include Immanuel Quickley, who scored 13 tonight)?
Zero! That doesn't make the Raptors the best team in the East by itself — again, they don't have a top-end, No. 1 star. New York, Cleveland, Milwaukee, and Detroit all do, and the Knicks and Cavs specifically have some real depth outside of their stars, too.
But the Raps might have four No. 2 guys, and that's pretty dang good in itself, especially if they're going to dish out 36 assists every night like they did in the opener. They likely won't, because that would smash an NBA record, but it's a good start regardless. The ball was zipping around and it led to tons of easy looks for the Raptors. You don't need a clear No. 1 scorer if everyone on the team is getting easy looks, and you really don't need a No. 1 option if all the other options are scoring 20-plus points.
Raptors lack of clear pecking order could be beneficial — or a hinderance
In the regular season, at least. In the playoffs, stars are necessary. But if this Raptors team has to deal with that problem, then things went pretty well this year!
The biggest possible downside to this whole thing is that 2025-26 was always going to be a gap year for this Raps team; they were never going to tank, but contention still feels like a year or two away. In years like that, it might be more beneficial to find a true star, rather than numerous almost-stars.
But maybe that's nitpicking. Because after one game, the Raptors already look like a well-oiled machine, and if Barnes, Dick, Barrett, and Ingram all buy into being part of a ball-moving, high-energy system, then the question of who the No. 1 option is might not matter after all. And for Raptors fans, that would be a dream outcome this year.