While the NBA Playoffs are in full swing, now is a good time to recap the fantasy basketball season for all 30 teams.
In the following weeks, we will provide a recap for each team, starting with the team with the worst record and concluding with the NBA champion in June.
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Next up in the series are the Toronto Raptors. With this being the first full season of the “Scottie Barnes era,” few expected Darko Rajakovic’s team to be in the conversation for a postseason berth. Unfortunately, injuries once again were a factor in the team’s lack of success, with Barnes and Jamal Shead being the only players to make at least 65 appearances. A significant move was made at the trade deadline, with the Raptors acquiring Brandon Ingram and signing him to a three-year contract.
Toronto Raptors 2024-2025 Season Recap
Record: 30-52 (11th, East)
Offensive Rating: 109.6 (26th)
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Defensive Rating: 113.6 (15th)
Net Rating: -4.1 (24th)
Pace: 100.62 (9th)
2025 NBA Draft Picks: 7.5 percent chance of winning draft lottery, 39
After winning 25 games in the first season of Darko Rajakovic’s tenure as head coach, the Raptors improved their win total by five games in 2024-25. However, the team was no closer to securing a spot in the postseason. Among the six players who made at least 30 starts, only Barnes and Ochai Agbaji did not miss at least 20 games. The injuries caused instability within the Raptors’ rotation, which did the team no favors in terms of winning games.
Toronto lost 12 of its first 14 games and went 2-11 in December. When the calendar flipped to 2025, only Washington and Charlotte would have fewer wins among Eastern Conference teams. A significant change would be made at the February trade deadline, with the Raptors acquiring Brandon Ingram from the Pelicans in exchange for Kelly Olynyk, Bruce Brown and a trade exception. Despite being sidelined by a left ankle injury, Ingram would be signed to a three-year extension by the Raptors less than a week after being acquired from New Orleans.
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With the addition of Ingram, he, Barnes and Immanuel Quickley will be the key building blocks for the Raptors moving forward. However, the change raises questions regarding RJ Barrett’s future in Toronto, as he has two seasons remaining on his current contract. Can the three wings (Barrett, Barnes and Ingram) coexist as starters? And if not, would the Raptors consider trading Barrett or use him as a sixth man? Toronto has some significant questions to answer this offseason.
Fantasy Standout: Scottie Barnes
While Barnes’ per-game and total fantasy value did not match his Yahoo! ADP, he was a top-50 player in eight-cat formats. Making 65 appearances, the Raptors wing averaged 19.3 points, 7.7 rebounds, 5.8 assists, 1.4 steals, 1.0 blocks and 1.2 three-pointers in 32.8 minutes, shooting 44.6 percent from the field and 75.5 percent from the foul line. Barnes’ averages were down slightly compared to the 2023-24 campaign, when he earned his first All-Star selection. But he played 65 games, with the lone extended absence occurring due to an inadvertent Nikola Jokic elbow to the face that left Barnes with a fractured orbital bone.
Barnes would miss three weeks of action, returning on November 21. He only missed six games the rest of the season. While there were frustrating moments for fantasy managers regarding Barnes’ playing time, he was generally on the court long enough to provide solid value during the fantasy playoffs. Will Barnes’ ADP next fall match his number from this season (19)? Probably not, but he’s a player who will likely come off the board in the third round of many standard league drafts. While there are questions about Toronto’s wing rotation, Barnes will be a prominent figure in the team’s lineup.
Fantasy Revelation: Jakob Poeltl
A veteran center who has provided reliable middle-round value in recent seasons, Poeltl was even better in 2024-25. After four consecutive top-100 seasons, the 7-footer was a top-50 player in nine-cat formats this season. Making 57 appearances, Poeltl averaged 14.5 points, 9.6 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 1.2 steals and 1.2 blocks in 29.6 minutes, shooting 62.7 percent from the field and 67.4 percent from the foul line. The improved foul shooting had a significant impact on his fantasy value, as Poeltl is a career 55.1 percent shooter.
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This was his first season making at least 60 percent of his attempts, and he also averaged career-highs in points, rebounds, assists and steals. Availability is a question for Poeltl, having failed to crack 60 games in either of the last two seasons. Add in the spike in free-throw percentage, and it’s fair to question whether or not he can sustain those numbers in 2025-26, especially on a roster that will have another perimeter scorer in Brandon Ingram. However, there’s no denying the strides made by Poeltl in 2024-25, leading to him offering greater value than most fantasy managers expected (Yahoo! ADP: 93).
Fantasy Disappointment: Brandon Ingram
Most of the players on Toronto’s season-ending roster played to expectation regarding their ADPs, and even those who did not weren’t far off the mark. Ingram’s issue, as has been the case for most of his career, was availability. Boasting a Yahoo! ADP of 67, he was limited to 18 games by an ankle injury suffered in early December. The slender forward would not play again during the 2024-25 campaign, but the injury did not dissuade the Raptors from acquiring Ingram from the Pelicans at the February trade deadline.
Toronto did sign Ingram to a…
