November 11, 2026
November 11, 2026
Toronto Raptors 2025-26 Season: The Long Road Back to the Playoffs
Toronto spent three years in the wilderness after its last playoff appearance, and the Raptors’ 2025-26 season was the year the franchise finally clawed its way out. A team that won just 30 games the previous spring surged to 46-36, claimed the fifth seed in the Eastern Conference, and dragged the Cleveland Cavaliers through seven grueling games. The run ended short of the second round, but it restored something Toronto had been missing since 2022: belief.
The turnaround came under head coach Darko Rajaković, in his third season on the bench. He built the climb around Scottie Barnes, Brandon Ingram, RJ Barrett, and Immanuel Quickley. Barnes and Ingram both earned All-Star selections, a fitting reward for the franchise’s return to relevance.
The season began with the biggest organizational shock in a decade. The roster that took the floor in October carried the fingerprints of a front office in transition.
On June 26, 2025, the day after the draft, the Raptors parted ways with longtime president Masai Ujiri. He had built the 2019 championship team, and his exit closed a defining chapter in franchise history. General manager Bobby Webster took on a central role in shaping what came next.
The draft had already delivered a piece of that future. Toronto selected South Carolina forward Collin Murray-Boyles with the ninth overall pick. He brought defensive versatility and toughness to a frontcourt that badly needed both. The Raptors also added Alijah Martin with the 39th pick and signed big man Sandro Mamukelashvili away from San Antonio.
Mamukelashvili became one of the quiet bargains of the season. He played in 80 games and averaged 11.2 points off the bench. Murray-Boyles appeared in 57 games, averaging 8.5 points and 5.0 rebounds while earning the trust of his coaching staff.
Toronto had acquired Brandon Ingram from New Orleans at the 2025 trade deadline, but injuries kept him off the floor for the rest of that season. This was the year the gamble had to pay off. It did.
Ingram played 77 games and led the team at 21.5 points per contest. His smooth midrange game gave the Raptors a reliable late-clock option they had lacked for years. He erupted for 37 points in a November win over Cleveland and added 38 against Miami in April. His All-Star nod validated the front office’s bet on a scorer many had written off as injury-prone.
The standings told the story early. Toronto was not a rebuilding team anymore, and it played like one with something to prove.
The Raptors announced themselves with a 138-118 rout of Atlanta on opening night. The real statement came a few weeks later. From November 11 to November 26, Toronto ripped off nine straight wins, finishing the month 12-3.
That streak defined the season. It turned a 30-win team from a year earlier into a legitimate playoff contender. Toronto also seized its group in the NBA Cup, going 4-0 before falling to the eventual champion New York Knicks in the quarterfinals.
Barnes drove much of that success. He played 80 games and averaged 18.1 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 5.9 assists. On December 28 against Golden State, he hauled in a staggering 25 rebounds in an overtime win. Quickley matched that energy on January 20, scoring 40 points in a 145-127 victory at Chase Center.
Momentum faded in December. A four-game losing streak and a 6-8 month exposed the roster’s thin margins. The biggest problem sat in the middle. Jakob Poeltl’s back, which had bothered him since training camp, flared up for good in late December. He missed all of January and did not return until mid-February.
Rajaković held the rotation together. Jamal Shead appeared in all 82 games and averaged 5.4 assists as a steadying backup point guard. Ja’Kobe Walter emerged as a dependable wing. Barrett averaged 19.3 points across 57 games, providing a second scoring punch whenever he was healthy.
At the February 5 trade deadline, Toronto acquired center Trayce Jackson-Davis from Golden State for a second-round pick. The Raptors also took on Chris Paul in a three-team deal that sent Ochai Agbaji to Brooklyn. Paul never played for Toronto and was waived on February 13, a move that pulled the franchise under the luxury tax.
The final weeks brought both brilliance and tension. A 139-87 demolition of Orlando on March 29 marked the most lopsided win of the year. Then came the finale. On April 12, Barnes posted a triple-double in a 136-101 win over Brooklyn that clinched a playoff berth. Losses by Atlanta and Orlando that same day lifted Toronto to fifth. The Raptors held the tiebreaker over the Hawks after sweeping the season series, as recorded on Basketball Reference.
The matchup looked favorable on paper. Toronto had beaten Cleveland in all three regular-season meetings. The playoffs, however, demanded more than confidence, and injuries tested this young group from the start.
Toronto entered the series without Quickley, who strained his right hamstring and missed every playoff game. The Raptors dropped the first two in Cleveland, falling 126-113 and 115-105. Down 2-0, the season stood on the edge.
Scotiabank Arena answered. Toronto blew out the Cavaliers 126-104 in Game 3. Game 4 was uglier and far more important. The Raptors shot 4-for-30 from three and trailed 87-82 with 2:36 left. Ingram buried a three, Barrett tied the game, and Barnes sank the go-ahead free throws. Toronto held on for a 93-89 win, a comeback detailed by TSN.
Game 5 cost Toronto more than a 125-120 loss. Ingram left in the second quarter with right heel inflammation and did not play again in the series. Facing elimination at home in Game 6, the Raptors coughed up an 11-point fourth-quarter lead and needed overtime. With 1.2 seconds left, Barrett launched a three that struck the back rim, bounced high above the backboard, and dropped through. The 112-110 win, described in full by theScore, drew comparisons to Kawhi Leonard’s famous 2019 buzzer-beater. Barnes finished with 25 points and 14 assists.
Six games had produced a deadlocked aggregate score of 669-669. Every game had gone to the home team. The Raptors walked into Cleveland on May 3 needing to break that pattern without two of their top four scorers.
They stayed level through halftime. Then the floor gave way. Cleveland closed the first half on an 11-2 run and opened the second on an 11-1 burst, building a 19-point lead in the third quarter. Jarrett Allen dominated that stretch with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Barnes fought to the end with 24 points, nine rebounds, and six assists, but Toronto fell 114-102. The NBA.com breakdown pointed to the Cavaliers’ veteran poise as the difference.
The Raptors’ 2025-26 season will be remembered as the year Toronto stopped waiting. A 16-win improvement, two All-Stars, and a seven-game playoff fight transformed the franchise’s outlook in a single campaign. Rajaković proved he could guide a winner, and his work earned him the honor of coaching Team World at All-Star Weekend.
The series loss stung, but its circumstances mattered. Toronto pushed a seasoned contender to the brink without Quickley at all and without Ingram for the final two games. Murray-Boyles and Walter gained playoff experience that cannot be manufactured in practice.
Fans gathered once again in Jurassic Park outside Scotiabank Arena, a scene that had been absent for four springs. That alone signaled how much the year meant. The Toronto Raptors entered the summer with a healthy core, a proven coach, and a clear identity built around Barnes.
The Raptors’ 2025-26 season did not end with a series win. It ended with something more durable: proof that the post-championship rebuild had finally turned the corner.
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