Immanuel Quickley will be entering his first full season with the Toronto Raptors.
Quickley was a backup with the New York Knicks, but since coming to Toronto he has been a starter.
Quickley averaged 18.6 points, 4.8 rebounds and 6.8 assists in 38 games with the Raptors last season.
The 25-year-old is the fifth oldest on the team and the second oldest member of the Raptors starting lineup. He will need to be one of the main leaders this season.
Quickley talked about the leaders he played with who have had the biggest impact on his career thus far.
“I’ve been fortunate enough to have a lot of great leaders, great teammates,” he said. “I don’t want to start rambling off and miss some guys, but I had a lot of great guys, a lot of great coaches. So I’m really grateful for all.”
The one name Quickley did mention is former NBA MVP Derrick Rose who recently retired from the NBA after 15 seasons. Rose was a mentor to Quickley during their two and a half seasons together in New York.
“To have an MVP, the youngest MVP ever on your team as a rookie, plays the same position as you, you’re going to ask some questions, it’s something that I hold true and dear to me,” Quickley said.
Rose was 32 when he re-joined the Knicks in 2020-21 during Quickley’s rookie season. Even though he wasn’t the same player since knee injuries slowed him down, Rose still had a profound impact on his teammates.
Now, Quickley hopes to share that wisdom in Toronto.
Jakob Poeltl gets brutally honest about expectations for Raptors this season
The Toronto Raptors don’t have high expectations for this year.
Veteran center Jakob Poeltl made it clear that the Raptors aren’t going to compete for a championship for the 2024-25 season.
He kept things real at Raptors Media Day when talking about the team’s outlook.
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