NBA Realities

Toronto Raptors head coach Darko Rajakovic developed a new slogan for the 2025 season. On September 30, 2025, he told reporters that the new team slogan is Win for All.

“Entering this season, a big slogan for me is going to be ‘win for all,’” said Rajakovic on Monday at Toronto’s media day. “Not just to win games, but to win for the community, to win for this country, to win for each other, to win for the man next to you. 

Unfortunately, Darko chose an awful slogan for his team, and the organization assembled a roster that will struggle in his offensive system. Over his first two seasons as Raptors head coach, Darko Rajakovic has installed an offensive system centered around ball movement.

Toronto Raptors offense

The team has been 6th in passes per game, averaging 298.8. Toronto primarily uses two different play types to generate ball movement, spot-ups, and cuts.

According to NBA University on Twitter/X, “a spot up possession is defined by the NBA as any action that begins with a stationary catch”. Over the past two seasons, the play type has been included in 22.9% of Toronto’s offensive possessions. Toronto has averaged 26 spot-ups per game, 15th in the league.

Toronto runs a high number of spot-ups because they have multiple players standing behind the three-point line on every possession. These players stand behind the arc to give teammates space to move around inside the arc.

Raptors vs 76ers

On October 25, 2024, Jakob Poeltl had the ball at the top of the team with ten minutes left in the first quarter against Philadelphia. Jakob Poeltl had the ball for a second, surveying the floor to get a sense of where he should pass the ball.

Jakob Poeltl had three teammates standing behind the three-point line as floor spacers in Davion Mitchell, Gradey Dick, and Ochai Agbaji. He also had Scottie Barnes posted up on the left block. 

Jakob Poeltl decided to pass it to Agbaji, who stood on the left wing. Agbaji immediately passed it to Barnes to work from the post. Upon receiving the ball, Barnes was surrounded by three Philadelphia players, forcing him to pass the ball to the perimeter. Philadelphia felt comfortable focusing on bonds because Toronto only had one average three-point shooter by N B A standards. 

According to Basketball Reference, since the 2020-21 season, the league average three-point percentage has been 36.2%. Toronto had no players who fit the criteria on the court.

The negative impact from lack of shooting

Due to this, Philadelphia was encouraging Barnes to pass the ball to the perimeter. Barnes would pass the ball to Mitchell, who would make the wide-open three-point attempt. Toronto’s roster construction has been the catalyst for their 25th-place ranking in three-point percentage, as they shoot 34.8% on 33.5 attempts per game.

Darko Rajakovic’s system indicates that the Toronto Raptors front office needed to prioritize the acquisition of three-point shooting. Unfortunately, Toronto assembled a roster with only two above-average three-point shooters in Immanuel Quickley and Brandon Ingram.

Cutting

Consequently, opposing teams are going to put multiple defenders near the basket on most possessions. The defensive game plan will affect Toronto’s offense in various ways. Toronto is one of the teams that uses cutting at a higher frequency in the NBA. They cut to the basket on 9.3% of their offensive possessions, averaging 9.9 per game, fifth in the league.

Despite Toronto’s willingness to cut to the basket, they have been inefficient in this play type. Toronto ranks 23rd in field goal percentage within the play type, shooting 63.2% on 8.4 attempts per game.

The Raptors’ ineffectiveness is related to the multiple defenders who are constantly near the basket. For instance, Chris Boucher attempted to cut to the basket from the right corner late in the third quarter against Philadelphia. Unfortunately, the cut to the basket went nowhere because four Philadelphia players were standing below the free-throw line.

Warp up

Toronto’s roster construction has resulted in them being one of the worst offensive teams in the league. Over the past two seasons, they have averaged 111.7 points, shooting 46.4% on 90.3 attempts per game. Those statistics rank them as the 22nd offense in the league. Toronto’s offensive struggles will continue due to the front office’s unwillingness to acquire a shooter.

If my argument holds, the Toronto Raptors will once again be in the lottery at the conclusion of the 2025-26 season, hoping to get the number one overall pick.