The Toronto Raptors caught a lot of the NBA world off guard during the 2026 NBA Draft when they selected Allen Graves out of Santa Clara at No. 19.
With players like Labaron Philon and Cameron Carr on the board, many fans questioned why Toronto would select another forward. Most of those doubters and naysayers have changed their tune following Graves' incredible play in Las Vegas at NBA Summer League. Through the early stages, Graves has shown all the different reasons the Raptors scouting department was so in love with him.
Graves has shown off his strong handle and playmaking chops, high-level rebounding, a knack for forcing turnovers, great steal and shot-blocking instincts, downhill scoring, and an efficient outside jumper. In his debut, Graves blew fans away with an impressive 22-point, 13-rebound double-double, which saw him shoot 3-of-8 from three and record five stocks (steals plus blocks).
While almost all the discourse surrounding Allen Graves online has been positive, there is one red flag in his game that continues to be overlooked: his jump shot. Graves has shown he is a reliable shooter, but when he is going up against NBA-level athletes, the lack of speed to his shot could be extremely problematic.
Graves' load-up needs to be faster
The immediate reaction I expect many Raptors fans to have to my concerns is: “What does it matter how his jumper looks? If he’s shooting 50 percent from three in Vegas on 5.5 attempts per game.” In most scenarios, I would agree because the No. 1 thing with shooting is: can the shot go in? For Graves, both in college and now in summer league, it has. But the difference between the athletes defending on a 15-man NBA roster and those on a summer league or college one is drastic.
Defenders in the NBA are faster, longer, and will be closing out much quicker on Graves than he is used to.
Given the way Graves loads up and almost telegraphs his shot before letting it fly, NBA coaching and defenses will pick up on it and fully limit his outside creation. Mind you, my concerns have nothing to do with his ability as a shooter; my concern is about how limited he’ll be on that front because of how long it takes him to load-up his shot.
Take Kyle Anderson as an example. We can all agree he’s a respectable shooter—a career 36.4 percent three-point shooter. The issue is that he takes so long to get his shot up that he averages 1.1 threes per game, which in today's NBA provides almost zero value at the forward spot.
Graves has a good release and flick to his shot. It’s all about speeding up the load-up, and starting his season in the G League could be a great way for him to speed things up.
In the past, we’ve seen the G League staff try to help young talents improve their jump shots, most recently Gradey Dick, and it totally backfired. But with Dick, they tried to overhaul his whole jump shot, which was needed, and for Graves, it definitely shouldn’t be the path they take. The staff just needs to find a way to make his shooting motion more seamless and effortless for Graves so he isn’t limited to shooting wide open or trail threes in the NBA.
Graves has all the makings of an elite role player and connective piece for the Raptors, but for him to reach his full potential, improving the load-up to his jump shot is a crucial next step.
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