If you’re anything like me, you’d probably be classified by the average Joe as a basketball sicko. With this comes a few things, but most importantly, a brutal sleep schedule. Most nights I’m up till 2 or 3 in the morning trying to consume as much basketball and basketball content as I can. The biggest pro to this recently is that, after moving the Game Theory podcast to Barstool Sports, Sam Vecenie has been doing late-night streams. He had a caller ask about standout two-way players, and he immediately mentioned Toronto Raptors big man Nate Bittle.
Vecenie spoke about how weak the center depth is around the league and even said he had Bittle as a top-50 player in this past 2026 NBA Draft class. He made it clear that he believes Bittle can be a real piece once he’s healthy and help the Raptors with some of their center struggles. I couldn’t agree more with Vecenie.
Bittle showed a ton of promise in Summer League, and given the Raptors' continued issues with size, his giant-like size could be a real boost. He also is a super mature player with an NBA-ready body and processing ability that won’t make him feel like a rookie whenever he makes his inevitable debut.
Nate Bittle could be a real solution to the Raptors' center issues
When Bittle first arrived on the scene with the Raptors in Las Vegas for Summer League, I was super iffy.
I was familiar with his profile from his five years at Oregon, and coming into the start of last college season, he was a big name I had marked as a top-40 prospect. But Oregon basketball ended up being pretty horrible last season, and Bittle struggled, shooting a career-low 46.5 percent from the field, and his three-point shot didn’t take the step forward I was projecting it would in preseason. With the regression of his offensive game and the concerns already about him being able to keep up athletically at the NBA level, it was safe to say I was 99 percent out on him as a prospect.
But after the way he played in Vegas, it was clear that he has the tools to be an NBA player as a high-feel 7-footer who could hurt teams as a roller or popper. Bittle's feel was also clear anytime he acted as a roller because of his ability to stop in the short roll and make a pass from that spot, similar to the way Jakob Poeltl can. He also showcased rim-protection ability as a drop-coverage big, which made him pop as a defender in college.
Over four summer league appearances, Bittle averaged 9.8 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 2.8 blocks per game while shooting 50 percent from the field and 43.8 percent from three on four attempts per game.
Bittle remains without a clear timetable for his return, so it's uncertain when he can debut and be some form of reinforcement for the Raptors at the center spot. But when he does, he has the tools to come in and be impactful from day one. Hearing a highly respected basketball mind like Sam Vecenie immediately point to Bittle as a player he thought was a great two-way get have Raptors fans feeling encouraged about his eventual debut.
Nate Bittle isn’t a fix to their center problems right now, or the big names some fans want. But he could be a very cheap and effective backup big for this team, and that’s something this group desperately needs right now. Let's hope he’s ready to go soon.
Add us as a preferred source on Google