Raptors Summer League primer: Look for Ja'Kobe Walter, Shead, rookies to impress
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Toronto has brought a powerhouse of a roster to Las Vegas for the NBA's annual Summer League slate.
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The benefit of winning only a third of the time over the past two years has been an influx of young talent — maybe not the top-of-the-lottery additions bad teams dream of, but enough solid prospects to start to turn a corner, which is the plan for 2025-26.
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But before that, Toronto brings a group with the second-best odds of winning the Vegas tournament (behind Utah, according to the prognosticators).
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It's a change from recent editions which featured only one or two intriguing names and is actually a bit of a callback to the most storied Raptors summer roster of 2017, which included stalwarts Pascal Siakam, Fred VanVleet and Jakob Poeltl.
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The hope is there's a future all-star or two from the current crop, which is headlined by this year's No. 9 overall draft selection Collin Murray-Boyles, recent first-rounder Ja'Kobe Walter, and second-rounders Jamal Shead, Jonathan Mogbo, Alijah Martin and Ulrich Chomche, plus shooter Jamison Battle and defensive standout Chucky Hepburn.
The team will be coached by Raptors assistant James Wade.
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Murray-Boyles doesn't really have the type of game that typically stands out in the run-and-gun, erratic Summer League circuit, but this will be a first look in an 'NBA environment' for the highly touted former South Carolina star.
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How will he look alongside new teammates like Walter and Shead, who Murray-Boyles likely will play with plenty off Toronto's bench to begin the season? How has his jumper come along? How has the work he has done on his body progressed in terms of slimming down a bit?
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The Toronto Raptors have selected Collin Murray-Boyles with the No. 9 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft. pic.twitter.com/cfXnlumXPv
— Jonathan Givony (@DraftExpress) June 26, 2025
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Toronto Blue Jays' Davis Schneider (36) slides safely into home ahead of a tag by New York Yankees catcher Austin Wells (28) in sixth inning MLB baseball action in Toronto on Tuesday, July 22, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jon Blacker
