The Toronto Raptors haven’t been doing a whole lot of winning, but they have seen some great development from their young players.
One of those players is Ochai Agbaji. After a disappointing Summer League, there were questions about Agbaji and if he would be able to carve out a significant role with the Raptors.
Early-season injuries gave Agbaji an opportunity to prove himself. Thrusted into the starting lineup, Agbaji has been turning heads with his improved play. Particularly on the offensive side on the ball.
Agbaji is shooting 47.9 percent from three-point range and leads the league in corner three-point efficiency at 62.1 percent.
“Leading up to the season, before training camp I was working at nights, coming in for some touch up, getting some shots up, that really hasn’t stopped, I’ve been continuing to do that while allowing my body to keep fresh.” Agbaji told reporters Thursday.
Not only is the 24-year-old taking on the toughest defensive assignments, but he has been a big boost to the team’s offense with key guys out.
Many people didn’t see this type of growth coming from Agbaji, but his former Kansas Jayhawks teammate certainly did.
“Of course, the way that he works you can’t not see it. The way that he goes 100 miles an hour every single drill. I feel like a lot of coaches say that guys go hard every drill, but if you watch Ochai work out behind closed doors, away from the media and stuff like that, and you can actually tell there’s a difference to his work ethic. Everything that he’s doing is earned, for sure,” Gradey Dick told reporters.
For the season Agbaji is averaging 13.5 points on 57.3 percent shooting from the field, 5.0 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.3 steals in 31.5 minutes per game.
Once the Raptors get healthy, Agbaji figures to move back to the bench. However, if he continues to put up this type of production, he will be an important piece of this young core moving forward.
Raptors share update on Scottie Barnes & other injured players
The Toronto Raptors are still dealing with a ton of injuries.
The good news is all of the Raptors injured players were participating in workout drills following practice on Thursday afternoon.
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