The Toronto Raptors built their success on defense. They forced a ton of turnovers that allowed them to get easy buckets in transition, which carried them to a fifth-place finish in the Eastern Conference.
This season, the Raptors should be even better defensively. They replaced Brandon Ingram with Kawhi Leonard. The 35-year-old may not be the same defender he was in 2015 and 2016 when he won back-to-back Defensive Player of the Year awards, but he’s still a very capable defender and an upgrade over Ingram.
The addition of Leonard—given he is healthy enough to play the majority of the season—along with improvements from Ja’Kobe Walter and Collin Murray-Boyles puts the Raptors in the running for one of the top defensive ratings in the NBA.
Only two teams will likely stand between them and the best defensive rating in the NBA: the Oklahoma City Thunder and the San Antonio Spurs. The Thunder have been a top-five offense since the 2023-24 season and finished first in defensive rating for two consecutive seasons. The Spurs burst onto the scene last season, led by Victor Wembanyama, and claimed the third-best defensive rating in the league on their way to the NBA Finals. The Thunder promise to be just as ferocious defensively as they have been in recent years, and the Spurs should get even better after gaining playoff experience.
CBS Sports’ Sam Quinn put both teams ahead of the Raptors in the top three in his defensive rankings for the 2026-27 season.
The Raptors could be the best defense in the Eastern Conference
Even if the Raptors can’t quite keep up with the Thunder and Spurs, they have a real shot at finishing the season with the best defensive rating in the Eastern Conference—and that could help them climb to the top of the standings.
The Detroit Pistons had the best defensive rating in the Eastern Conference last season, and they won 60 regular-season games. Quinn ranked the Raptors right above the Pistons. Detroit gave up some defensive tenacity by replacing Isaiah Stewart with Paul Reed and adding Isaiah Joe to improve the 3-point shooting.
The Miami Heat and their trio of Bam Adebayo, Davion Mitchell, and Giannis Antetokounmpo should also be a defensive force in the Eastern Conference.
Defense will still be the Raptors’ key to success
The addition of Leonard makes the Raptors a much more dangerous offensive team. Nevertheless, defense will still be key to the Raptors’ success. Leonard amplifies their strength and talent on that end of the floor, and he should take their turnover-generated transition attacks to the next level.
Moreover, the Raptors will have to lean on their defense whenever Leonard misses games—and that is bound to happen at least a few times during the regular season.
Add us as a preferred source on Google