Raptors Mock Draft: Toronto takes polarizing Israeli wing in latest 2025 mock

The Toronto Raptors are likely to be stuck in no-man's land for the 2025 NBA Draft.

In what is being heralded by many draft analysts as one of the strongest drafts in recent memory, a number of future stars will entice NBA teams to tank this year to position themselves for the best chance to draft one of them, be that Cooper Flagg or Ace Bailey.

The Raptors appear like a team too good to outright tank, not with players like Scottie Barnes, RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley forming the foudnation of the team. They likely won't be good enough to make the playoffs, but they will be too good to be picking in the Top 5 barring a lucky leap up in the lottery.

In many drafts, that might mean being left out in the cold, but the 2025 draft class is filled with a number of intriguing players. The Raptors will almost certainly be in the market for two-way perimeter players, ideally at the 3 and 4, to fill in around their core.

The Athletic's Sam Vecenie is one of the most plugged-in and shrewd draft analysts in the business, and he released a way-too-early 2025 mock draft this week. With the draft order set by the BetMGM win total projections, the Raptors fell to eighth in the pecking order.

The Top 5 was filled with the usual suspects, from Cooper Flagg and Ace Bailey to Dylan Harper and VJ Edgecombe. Checking in at No. 8, however, was a player who could fit a need on Toronto from day one: Israeli wing Ben Saraf.

The Raptors drafted Ben Saraf

Ben Saraf is a creative, decisive and crafty player who hails from Israel and was a force in the U-18 European championship. The 6'6" wing is an exceptionally gifted passer and playmaker. and can score admirably in the paint.

Saraf's outside shot isn't worth anything, and he is not an elite athlete. But he is also a smooth jumpshooter inside the arc with the potential to grow into one outside the arc, where his shots still seem off and inconsistent.

Saraf has been a marvel for Team Israel in the various competitions, and now he approaches his chance to land on an NBA roster. He will play hard, rebound and pass, and score at the rim when available.

The Raptors desperately need a player at Saraf's position on the wing to platy alongside and back up Scottie Barnes. If he can shoot it this season playing in Germany then the Raptors could consider the acquisition next year.

There are other options at a variety of positions available in the draft class, from bigs to guards and everyone in between. But if Saraf has a solid season and if available for the Raptors next June, he would check a lot of boxes for the team as it builds out its young core.