Jamison Battle is the latest addition of the Toronto Raptors.
He was signed to an Exhibit 10 contract due to his strong Summer League play.
During his collegiate career, Battle averaged 15.3 points, 5.2 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game while shooting 46.9 percent from the field and 43.3 percent from three-point range.
After going undrafted, it did not take long for the 6’7″ forward to find a landing spot. Known for his scoring, Battle was in double figures in the Raptors first two Summer League games.
On July 19, Battle put up 9 points, 2 rebounds and 2 assists on 3-for-4 shooting from distance.
So far, Battle’s scoring has transferred to the next level. Raptors Summer League head coach Jama Mahlalela talked about how exciting of a player Battle is, via Sports Illustrated’s Aaron Rose:
“Jamison has been really exciting as a player. I think his shooting ability, is sort of like everyone can see it, but his playmaking and next-action is also really good. And then defensively, he’s got really good length, good arms, good shoulders, so he’s done a really good job with his on-ball defense.”
While being able to space the floor and hit shots is important, Battle also acknowledged that he must defend as well, via Rose:
“I have to be able to defend, guard, keep a guy in front of me, and also help the team on help defense and stuff like that. I think the biggest translator is shooting and I think that’s been shown as Summer League so far, but there’s still more things that I can add to my game to help teams win.”
It is great to see Battle be self aware and be willing to embrace different aspects of his game.
Darko Rajakovic says Toronto has a clean slate going into next season
Last season featured a ton of change for Toronto as they traded away Pascal Siakam and O.G. Anunoby.
However, coming into the 2024-25 season, head coach Darko Rajakovic says the team has a clean slate after establishing their young core.
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