Oh man. How could I exactly put the Raptors' absolute demolition of the Orlando Magic into words?
A night where almost everything went right for Toronto, and mind you, this is an affair where the Raps were minus Immanuel Quickley, Brandon Ingram, and Collin Murray-Boyles? To go on a record-breaking 31-0 run, while also breaking some and nearing historic levels for Toronto on several facets — I don't even think the most optimistic Raptors fan had this type of result playing out in their minds. But thankfully, the Raptors pull out of this one with undoubtedly their most dominant victory of the season (and up there for all-time records), over a team that may be banged up, but still a very formidable foe in a quite volatile Eastern Conference at present.
Now that I gave the Raptors' historic effort its due praise, I move over to the subject of this particular piece and one of the highlights of Toronto's standout affair: AJ Lawson.
AJ Lawson gets the call against Magic and doesn't disappoint
Toronto's bench has often been noted as an obvious Achilles heel. That's not to say there isn't talent there lying in wait, but in terms of consistency, production, and ability to hang with opposing team's backup units — the Raptors' reserves have shown to be a step behind in that regard. However, as the Raptors embarked on their absolute blitz of Orlando, they were pleased to get ample production from several key reserves — with a total of 58 bench points across the board.
AJ Lawson, was of course part of this rally, where he recorded 14 points on 5-for-7 shooting, including 4-for-6 from three, along with two rebounds, two assists, three steals, and a plus/minus of +31.
Lawson is no stranger to the Raptors' faithful, as he's been in the organization since December 2024, when he first signed on to be a two-way contract. He was later converted to a two-way standard deal (though non-guaranteed) late last season, subsequently being waived on that contractual agreement prior to the 2025-26 season start, before joining on once more as a two-way player. Lawson has done much of his work in the G League with the equally blitzing 905 squad this season, where he's been a true highlight putting up 21.5 points on 46.4 percent shooting, including 35.8 percent from deep.
While it's been an absolute pleasure to have Lawson as part of the 905's efforts, there is also a part of me that feels for him knowing that he should have warranted a rightful place among the main roster pecking order. We've already seen glimspes of AJ Lawson's spark scoring potential in small samples last season, and I truly thought that he would crack the final roster upon the 2025-26 season start, but it became increasingly clear with the cluster of wings/swingmen to find minutes for — Lawson looked to primed to be collateral damage.
But here's where the silver lining emerges in a way. I think Toronto has more or less figured out the Gradey Dick experiment has run its course, and that opens up an avenue for the Raptors to invest more in a promising in-house, homegrown talent like Lawson if they so please. In AJ Lawson, you get what you're signing up for: he's a pure bucket-getter on multiple levels (playing almost like an RJ Barrett-lite in my opinion), possesses strong defensive upside (saw glimpses of that against Orlando), and a serviceable jump shot so long as he can get it going in real NBA minutes.
I've loved watching Ja'Kobe Walter become a true building block for this Raptors bench, and I'm equally delighted to see guys who were struggling not so long ago in Sandro Mamukelashvili and Jamal Shead back into their own. But I can definitely see a world wherein AJ Lawson fits alongside that budding "Bench Mob 2.0" and not to mention his fellow 905 brethren Alijah Martin, who also had a great showing in this Magic win. Toronto could absolutely use an extra boost in their arsenal who possesses a mix of hustle, scoring, and a strong heart for the game — AJ Lawson is that guy.