After the Toronto Raptors added former No. 1 overall pick Markelle Fultz earlier this week, an interesting feat on the roster has become apparent.
They have quickly assembled a unit consisting of six former top 10 NBA Draft selections from previous years. This list includes the previously mentioned Fultz (first overall in 2017), Brandon Ingram (second overall in 2016), RJ Barrett (third overall in 2019), Scottie Barnes (the Raptors' own pick at fourth overall in 2021), Jakob Poeltl (their own selection at ninth overall in 2016), and Collin Murray-Boyles (their recent ninth overall pick in 2025).
Raptors' roster reveals a plethora of former NBA Draft lottery picks
I don't know if anyone associates the Raptors' roster construction with building through lottery picks, as they've carved out a reputation for stockpiling mid-range draft picks, second-rounders, or undrafted talents altogether.
I mean, just look at the iconic championship squad from 2018-19 and see how their careers came to be: Kawhi Leonard (picked outside the lottery at 15th overall), Kyle Lowry (24th overall pick in 2006), Danny Green (46th overall in 2009), Pascal Siakam (27th overall in 2016), and Marc Gasol (48th overall in 2007). Zero lottery picks in that bunch and they raised a Larry O'Brien trophy at season's end.
On the flip side, as basketball fans, I think we've come to understand that draft position doesn't necessarily determine a player's trajectory in the league. They might come in hot at the draft but fail to live up to those lofty expectations. In this case, injuries and a stroke of bad luck are to blame for Fultz's star never truly taking off at the NBA level. Otherwise, I'd say Barrett, Ingram, Barnes, Poeltl, and CMB (his first year in the pros has been very promising) have all done pretty well for themselves as highly-touted lottery picks.
That said, I argue that it's even more of a feel-good story when the Raptors discover their next uncut gem or best-kept secret, a trend that has become consistent throughout the 2010s and into the 2020s. Also, of note, earlier this year, the Raptors had Mo Bamba (6th overall pick in the 2018 draft) on their roster too as a brief addition.
There is an interesting trend that brings several of these former lottery picks together in another, perhaps unplanned, similarity — and that's their relative inability to shoot the three-ball. I'm not counting RJ Barrett and Brandon Ingram, who aren't exactly lights-out shooters in their own right, but are capable of hitting a three-ball more consistently than these players.
Fultz is a career 28.0 percent three-point shooter, Scottie Barnes is a career 29.9 percent three-point shooter, Jakob Poeltl has absolutely no three-point shot in his offensive game, and Collin Murray-Boyles (though a work in progress at 35.4 percent) doesn't necessarily take enough three-point attempts (just 1.0 attempts per game) to be considered a true shooting threat just yet — but I have faith that CMB can eventually get there.
However, the common ground between these four gentlemen in a positive light is that they're all competent defenders. If we can see a lineup with all four men on the floor together (we've already seen some good minutes from Fultz, Barnes, and CMB against the Jazz), perhaps Raptors fans can understand why these men were assembled in the first place, even if they're negative shooters.