Toronto Raptors president Masai Ujiri was a fan of the bench production this season.
This year did not go to plan with injuries to key starters, but it allowed for the young players to get a look.
When the Play-In Tournament was out of reach, rookies and two-way players began to get an opportunity. Notably Jamal Shead, A.J. Lawson, Jonathan Mogbo, Jamison Battle and Colin Castleton benefited from this.
Losing is never easy for a young team that wants to compete, but the front office needs to evaluate and find bright spots from the year. Ujiri named the bench as one, comparing them to bench mob:
“I never want to reference this, but there’s great resemblance to the bench mob we had” – Masai Ujiri on the bench unit pic.twitter.com/odOWs0Bp5x
— Toronto Raptors (@Raptors) April 16, 2025
The bench production has been an issue for Toronto since entering this new phase, but perhaps they have found some options. Obviously, the Raptors are going to rely heavily on their starters next season, but having three to five capable bench players would be big.
It is also worth noting that a first-round draft pick looms large this summer and hopefully that prospect can produce right away. Lawson nearly averaged 10.0 points a contest through 25 games, Battle, Shead and Castleton averaged 7.0 points. Plus Mogbo chipped in with 6.0 points a game.
Perhaps veteran signings are made to further bolster their bench, but having a full offseason should foster natural growth for these rookies and two-way players. Also worth mentioning Ja’Kobe Walter, who missed most of this year with a shoulder injury showed a lot of promise to close out the season.
Factoring all those names and potential additions, the Raptors bench looks to be on the up and up.
Masai Ujiri talks about Raptors lottery odds & hints at draft plans
First things first for the Toronto Raptors is the 2025 NBA Draft Lottery as they hope the odds fall in their favor this time around. Masai Ujiri is already thinking ahead to the lottery and hinted at what they plan to do in the draft.
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