The young guard will look to turn late-season flashes into consistent production for a playoff-bound rotation.
The Toronto Raptors don't need Ja’Kobe Walter to suddenly become a star next season. They may need something more realistic, and in some ways more important: consistency.
Walter enters his third NBA season after showing enough during his second year and the playoffs to make the Raptors believe he can handle a bigger role. Now, with Toronto moving into a more competitive phase, the question is whether he can turn those flashes into something the team can count on throughout an entire season.
That is where Walter’s development becomes particularly important.
Sports Illustrated identified him as Toronto’s biggest X-factor heading into 2026-27, pointing to the progress he made from his rookie season. His scoring average dipped slightly, but his efficiency moved in the right direction. Walter went from shooting 40.5 percent from the field as a rookie to 44.6 percent last season, while his three-point shooting jumped from 34.9 percent to 40.9 percent.
Those numbers give the Raptors a reason to expect more from him.
The bigger test will be whether Walter can maintain that efficiency while taking on a larger role in Darko Rajakovic’s rotation.
Walter’s development raised a more specific question about whether he can become more comfortable creating his own shot, particularly when that means putting the ball on the floor and finishing at the rim.
That could determine how much his offensive game expands beyond simply being a perimeter shooter.
Walter’s best stretch came after the All-Star break, when his shot started to look much more dependable. He made 47.6 percent of his three-point attempts while taking 4.7 per game during that span, which ranked among the league’s better shooting marks at the time.
His playoff run followed a similar pattern, although it took him a while to settle in.
Walter opened the postseason 4-for-22 from three and was held scoreless in two of Toronto’s first four games. He finished much stronger, making at least 42.9 percent of his threes in each of the final three contests. He also scored at least 20 points in two of those games and collected 10 steals while handling some of the Raptors’ more demanding defensive assignments.
The late turnaround gave Toronto a more useful glimpse of Walter than his early struggles did.
Toronto is preparing to lean more heavily on a young bench featuring Walter, Collin Murray-Boyles and Jamal Shead. All three players have no more than two seasons of NBA experience, yet the Raptors appear comfortable asking them to take on significant responsibility as the team pushes toward contention.
Walter's shooting could be especially valuable in that group. A dependable perimeter threat forces defenses to respect the floor around players such as Scottie Barnes, Immanuel Quickley and Shead, creating more room for them to attack.
Walter should have chances to take on more responsibility throughout the season, whether that comes because of injuries or because Rajakovic wants a different look from his lineup.
That is the gamble Toronto is making with him. The Raptors saw what Walter could provide after the All-Star break and again during the final three playoff games. Now they need to know whether he can bring that level of play with him more often, rather than only in stretches.
His third season allows him to answer that question. If the shooting holds and the rest of his game continues to develop, Walter could become an important part of Toronto’s next step, the kind of player who helps turn a promising roster into a legitimate contender.
