Ochai Agbaji showed us his ceiling in Toronto
Hopefully, Ochai Agbaji will be remembered for being more than just a trade asset Bobby Webster moved to dodge the luxury tax.
Along with Kelly Olynyk, Agbaji was traded to the Raptors halfway through Darko Rajakovic’s first season as head coach. Rajakovic recently spoke about having to change the standards and culture of a team he inherited in 2023, and Agbaji has been a Darko guy through and through.
Agbaji wasn’t great when he first joined the team, but he really stepped up last season, setting career-highs in almost every statistical category.
“His 10.4 points per game were 2.5 points higher than his previous high, which came in his rookie season. He started a total of 45 games in an injury-riddled season for Toronto after setting a previous high of 28 in his sophomore season with Utah and Toronto. The biggest leaps came from his percentages as Ochai was just .2 shy of shooting 50 percent and just .1 short of being a 40 percent three-point shooter.”
-via Mete Makarnaci on Agbaji’s leap in the 2024-25 season
Last season, when the Raptors had nothing to lose except hang its hat on its defensive identity, Agbaji stepped up. He was reliable on the defensive end and offensively, he was a reliable and hard cutter, solid in transition, and always kept moving. On top of that, he hit his shots – shooting an elite 50% from the field and 40% from downtown on four attempts per game.
“This isn’t just best-small-role-player-on-the-Raptors territory, it’s best-small-role-player-in-the-league stuff. …. He is second in the entire league in made corner 3s and is shooting 50 percent on drives. And after almost exclusively shooting from the corner to start the year, he is drifting further and further up the break, but he’s not cooling off. He’s up to 38.7 percent from above the break on the year, far from the profile of a corner merchant.”
-via Louis Zatzman on how Agbaji was quietly perfect early in the 24-25 season
Admittedly, Agbaji has been shooting the 3 at a paltry 18.5% this season. He’s only made two or more 3s in four games. But the World All-Star coach continued to give him minutes as the Raptors got better.
His star teammate, Brandon Ingram, has been on a mission to make the league remember who he once was. In Toronto, Agbaji showed what he’s capable of when he’s at his best, and likewise, will need to remind the league that he can be a reliable 3-and-D. Ingram showered nothing but praise when asked about the important cog in Rajakovic’s rebuild: “Really strong, can move his feet, smart on the defensive end, he makes plays, he can guard on and off the ball, he’s been pushing me since summer time.”
Agbaji has spoken about playing with “relentless energy” and his miles logged early last season proved that. This season, he’s shown flashes where he’s ripped down a board like Scottie and finished in transition. Against a win over the Hawks in October, Agbaji played both sides of the ball, forcing a turnover after helping on a switch and had a nice put-back after ripping down an offensive board during a Raptors’ run.
Agbaji contributed to the Raptors’ upward trajectory, but will no longer be a part of it. Kira Lewis, Otto Porter, and a 2024 first-round pick were flipped into Agbaji and Olynyk, who have now been flipped into Chris Paul and Brandon Ingram (Bruce Brown and draft picks were also traded alongside Olynyk).
The Raptors have acquired Trayce Jackson-Davis for a 2026 second-round pick, and Agbaji’s departure will put the pressure on Ja’Kobe Walter and Gradey Dick to step up even more. It could also mean more minutes for A.J. Lawson, Alijah Martin or Chuckie Hepburn.
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