I wouldn't let go of those Ja'Kobe Walter stocks just yet. In his rookie campaign last year, I was pleasantly surprised by the former Baylor product, who showed that he brought a ton of young energy. He had a couple of big shooting games, most notably his buzzer-beater against the Magic last March. It was a game they were largely on pace to lose, but Walter had other plans in the clutch.
Though riding off a solid rookie year, where he averaged 8.6 points on 40.5 percent shooting, 34.9% from three, 3.1 rebounds, 1.6 assists, and nearly a steal at 0.8 per game in 52 appearances (with 18 starts), I assumed Walter would be integrated into this current Raptors construct, albeit in a somewhat reduced role. However, as Raptors Media Day 2025 came to reveal, in addition to the preseason sample, it appeared as if Walter was thrust in a bit of a minutes battle with fellow hungry youngster, Gradey Dick.
And while some of that belief held true as the 2025-26 campaign got underway, both Walter and Dick have so far found their way into the bench rotation. However, I would argue that Dick has, in a sense, had Walter's number up until the Raptors' most recent game. On November 19, the Raptors overcame a halftime deficit to the 76ers, riding off of a strong third-quarter to ultimately win the game with a final score of 121-112. As has been the case lately, Toronto's starters continued to demonstrate their dominance, all scoring in double figures for the seventh time this season.
But regarding the reserves, Ja'Kobe Walter's contributions stood out the most. It was undoubtedly the 21-year-old's best performance to date, as he scored 11 points on 4-for-5 shooting from the field, and three steals. This included him going 3-for-4 from three-point range, which reminded everybody of his fluid shooting stroke. Walter was also tied for second-highest on the team in plus/minus for the night, along with Immanuel Quickley, at +8.
Ja'Kobe Walter shines against the Philadelphia 76ers
After his solid performance against the 76ers on November 19, Ja'Kobe Walter spoke with Kayla Grey who asked him the following: "For yourself personally, confidence is something that you don't lack, even if your role has changed a little bit with this team now. How did it show up tonight and kind of you getting back to your flow?"
To which, the Raptors sophomore replied:
"Just kinda believing in myself through the whole process. Talked to coach earlier about it, and you know, he was just giving me good advice. To not think about anything else and just play freely. They saw how free I felt in Summer League, and he was just like, "It's just like Summer League, just play your game." So that was my mentality coming out. "Ja'Kobe Walter
If Walter can keep this confident mindset and continue to bring this strong energy off the bench (the other guys are already chock-full of it — looking at you Jamal Shead and Sandro Mamukelashvili), I believe we'll see longer stretches of efficient and effective play from the 6-foot-5 swingman.