Growth in the NBA is rarely linear, and many players go through a sophomore slump once opponents have better scouting reports on them and know exactly what to take away on offense. After a playoff run that saw him emerge as the Raptors’ third-leading scorer behind Scottie Barnes and RJ Barrett, Collin Murray-Boyles will be on every team’s scouting report—and probably pretty high on it, too.
The Raptors are hoping to go from a fun young team that exceeded expectations to a legitimate Eastern Conference powerhouse led by Scottie Barnes and Kawhi Leonard. Murray-Boyles will be imperative to that shift, as the Raptors are expecting him to be their sixth man—a big role for a second-year player and absolutely crucial to their success.
If they go through with the trade for Leonard, the expectations for the Raptors will skyrocket, and there will be a lot of pressure on the team to find immediate success. In that scenario, they simply cannot afford a sophomore slump from Murray-Boyles.
The Raptors need a lot from Murray-Boyles
If the Raptors stay healthy and start Immanuel Quickley, RJ Barrett, Kawhi Leonard, Scottie Barnes, and Jakob Poeltl, Collin Murray-Boyles will be the most important player off the bench, followed by third-year players Jamal Shead and Ja’Kobe Walter.
Given Poeltl’s recent struggles with a back injury and his disappointing 2025-26 season, Murray-Boyles is expected to play heavy minutes as a small-ball five and close many games due to his defensive tenacity and versatility. The Raptors have no true proven backup big, so a lot rides on Murray-Boyles’s ability to compete with bigger players.
It’s not just about the defense, though. By pushing him into a sixth-man role, the Raptors are also asking Murray-Boyles to expand his offense and be an impactful scorer who can work alongside Barnes, even though neither has a reliable 3-point shot. After the season, head coach Darko Rajakovic shared that he wanted Murray-Boyles to work on his face-up game and to become more comfortable with the ball in his hands, especially in pick-and-roll situations.
If Murray-Boyles struggles to respond to the attention defenses will undoubtedly pay him now, it would hurt the Raptors’ chances of becoming an Eastern Conference contender. However, so far, there has been no indication that he won’t be up to the challenge. Murray-Boyles was completely unfazed by his transition from college to the NBA and adjusted to the playoffs as if it were nothing despite playing an increased role in most games.
The absolute best-case scenario for the Raptors would be that Murray-Boyles doesn’t just sustain last season’s success but takes a leap into the Sixth Man of the Year and All-Defensive conversations.
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