The most important player for the Toronto Raptors in their season-opening victory was not Scottie Barnes or Brandon Ingram or RJ Barrett or Immanuel Quickley. The most important player scored just seven points in his 17 minutes of play. Yet what Sandro Mamukelashvili unlocked for the Raptors' offense could change the entire trajectory for this franchise.
Toronto largely brought back its entire roster from last season. That doesn't mean they leaned into continuity, because last year's team didn't have any. Brandon Ingram was added at the Trade Deadline but didn't play a single game as he recovered from an injury. The team's core players barely appeared together in the same game all year. The roster was the same but still very much unproven.
Added to the mix was a single free agent signing of note: Sandro Mamukelashvili, a 6'9" stretch big from Georgia -- the country, not the state. He came to Toronto by way of the San Antonio Spurs, where he averaged 11 minutes and six points per game last season. He signed a two-year, $5.3 million contract to be the Raptors' backup center.
On Wednesday night, the Raptors were in Georgia (the state, not the country) to play the Atlanta Hawks in both teams' season opener. It was an opportunity for Ingram to debut for the team and show his star-level ability; for Scottie Barnes to show if he has leveled up over the summer; for Quickley and Barrett to show they fit alongside the team's star forwards.
Everything turned up positive for the Raptors in a 138-118 shellacking of a team many thought would secure home-court advantage in the Eastern Conference this season. Both teams had their full rotations essentially available and went mano a mano and the Raptors came out on top in a big way.
Barrett had 25 points, eight rebounds and five assists in a dominant performance. Barnes had 22-6-9 as he punished the Hawks' frontcourt defenders. Ingram had a tidy 16 points and nine rebounds. Gradey Dick dropped 21 points off the bench.
Sandro Mamukelashvili was vital for the Raptors
Yet the most important player on Wednesday night -- not the best, but the most important -- was Sandro Mamukelashvili. He came off the bench and played just 17 minutes, but if he hadn't been on the roster, the Raptors may have lost the game instead of winning by 20 points.
In Mamukelashvili's 17 minutes, the Raptors outscored the Hawks by 21 points. When starting center Jakob Poeltl was on the court, the Hawks had the upper hand by three points. Mamukelashvili entering the game changed everything for the Raptors.
Toronto has an extremely talented team, but the biggest concern heading into the season was how those talented pieces would fit together when only one member of the starting lineup was a true plus-shooter for their position (Quickley). Ingram is fine, Barrett is below average, and Barnes and Poeltl are not spacing anything.
What this franchise has needed for years is a stretch-5, a center who can come in and space the court on offense without being an absolute sieve on defense. Wildly successful teams in recent years have often employed such a player -- Chet Holmgren won a title last year for the Oklahoma City Thunder opposite another stretch-5 in Myles Turner. The year before it was Al Horford. A stretch-big is very nice to have.
In Mamukelashvili, the Raptors finally have a player to unlock their offense. And when unlocked, it became clear this group can go on a rampage. More space on the court weaponizes Ingram and Barnes and Barrett in the paint. When you add in that Mamukelashvili is coming off the bench into lineups where those three are split up, and the offensive potential and spacing goes up even further.
The Raptors have a lot of talented players. Mamukelashvili is down the pecking order. What he brings to this roster, however, is needed and unique. And it just make him the free agent steal of the year for the Toronto Raptors.