Jamal Shead had himself a night against Washington Wizards on November 21. Shead suited up for just over 16 minutes of action, where he recorded seven points on 2-for-2 shooting from beyond the arc, a whopping ten assists, one steal, and finishing with a +19 plus/minus for the squad. Those ten assists actually led the Raptors team that night in that category, and Shead's place as the team's second leader in assists behind Immanuel Quickley continues to hold true.
Surprisingly, it marked only Shead’s third career game with double-digit assists, though I feel like he's done it much more often given his role as a steady floor general. On that note of Shead’s playmaking, he ranks second among all sophomores with 86 total assists, behind reigning Rookie of the Year Stephon Castle, who has 98 total assists, at the time of writing.
But Shead is not just a stout playmaker, he's built this reputation for himself with a constant winning attitude, intangible leadership qualities, and a brotherly respect with his peers. In fact, a similarly blossoming Raptors bench piece in Sandro Mamukelashvili spoke about this with the media after beating the Wizards on November 21, where he said the following (video link here):
"I would say he's a straightforward guy and I love that. I don't like people who kinda, you know, not tell you in your face how they feel, and sometimes when I mess up, he comes to me and he tells me like "Come on, do this, do that." I like that type of guys who kind of come to you and motivate you to be better ... He's very high IQ ... He's an unbelievable player, unbelievable guy, and it just makes it easy because he's so straightforward."Sandro Mamukelashvili on Jamal Shead
Of Shead's ten assists against the Wizards, five of them led to Mamukelashvili buckets, their budding chemistry has developed into a feel-good storyline for the Raptors this season. Actually, Jamal Shead's career path so far is quite the inspirational tale, especially for a draft prospect of his caliber entering the NBA. Basketball analysts Bill Simmons and Zach Lowe of The Ringer would discuss this angle on a recent podcast episode, where Simmons said the following about Toronto's 23-year-old rugged guard (YouTube link here):
Prospects like Jamal Shead often go unnoticed, but the Raptors found a true stud
"I liked Sheed [sic] in college and I remember he fell to like the mid-40s ... like why don't teams just take guys like this every year? He's going to be a f***ing, annoying pest on defense. Like look at Kris Dunn on the Clippers. Kris Dunn's going to be in, forever. Just look for guys who are going to be like Kris Dunn. That'll be like your ninth or tenth player on your team, he's going to have an impact. "Bill Simmons, Nov 20, 2025
I really like the Kris Dunn comparison. Dunn’s journey hasn't been easy — initially a lottery pick, he had to prove himself through brief NBA stops here and there and various G League stints before finding his footing in Utah and now the Clippers. Like Dunn, Shead may not put up huge scoring numbers, but he’s a relentless defender, is a natural-born leader despite his young NBA age, and has habits from college that translate very well at the next level.
Some teams in the draft might see a player like Shead as a first-round flier, especially contending squads looking for a win-now piece. However, most teams will still opt to chase higher ceiling prospects in the first-round, despite a Shead-like prospect appearing quite tantalizing. Thankfully for the Raptors, they were the ones to stumble upon a real hidden gem in Jamal Shead.