Ja’Kobe Walter is close to making his NBA debut with the Toronto Raptors.
The Raptors have listed the 20-year-old shooting guard as questionable to play against the Los Angeles Lakers tonight. Walter said he feels good, but is still waiting on clearance from team medical personnel.
If Walter is given the green light, he’s ready to play.
“It’s like a fairy tale kind of situation,” Walter said ahead of the potential matchup against the Lakers.
Walter missed the entire preseason and the first 5 games of the regular season after he suffered an injury during informal workouts.
The rookie has been working hard to build his body as he recovers from his shoulder sprain.
“Since Day 1 I got hurt, been working on my left hand, working on just other areas, my legs, strength, stretching, watching a lot of film, learning the game. Talking to people like Garrett Temple. Sitting next to him on the bench, sitting next to Bruce [Brown]. So I’ve still gotten, I think, way better than what I could have been if I was just playing,” Walter told reporters.
The Raptors drafted Walter for his shooting and 3-And-D potential. He was dubbed as the Gary Trent Jr. replacement and once he’s given the go-ahead to play, he will immediately slide into the Raptors rotation.
“I consider myself just an energetic player, defensively, getting after it, down on the floor, just doing whatever I can, kind of making hustle plays. Offensively, space on the floor, knocking down shots, cutting off the ball,” Walter said of his game.
Walter is well aware of what his fellow rookie classmates have done thus far. It has encouraged him to want to go out there and compete at the highest level.
“Just seeing that they can do it, I just know that I can do it too,” he said.
If Walter contributes out of the gate just like Shead and Mogbo, then the Raptors may truly have a special draft class on its hands.
Darko Rajakovic on Gradey Dick’s development
Dick notched a new career-high of 30 points against the Hornets on Wednesday night
The second-year player looked comfortable putting the ball on the deck and finishing at the rim. Raptors coach Rajakovic talked about Dick’s development after the game.
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