TORONTO – After one other solid scoring performance Toronto Raptors rookie Ja’Kobe Walter still desired to put the team first.
Walter had 22 points to guide Toronto’s offence in a 117-105 loss to the Detroit Pistons on Friday. Asked about his improved play after getting back from a strained right quad on March 23, Walter tried to defer to talking in regards to the Raptors as an entire.
“For myself? Or for the team?” Walter asked back.
“I believe I’m pretty pleased with just how confident I’m getting on defence,” said Walter. “I believe defensively, I type of ramped it up and altered my whole mindset, knowing that defence will carry into my offence.
“I’m not likely focused on offence as much. I just wish to bring the energy defensively.”
Walter has averaged 13.9 points, 4.1 rebounds and three.3 assists over the past seven games since he was sidelined. The 20-year-old, who was Toronto’s first-round draft pick this past summer, was philosophical about how injuries have broken up his rookie season.
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“I’m really just having fun with the journey,” he said. “If it wasn’t imagined to be that way from me, then it wouldn’t have been that way.
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“I’ve type of just been going with the flow, still staying to myself, keep working. I do know where I need to be, so I’m just attempting to stay consistent daily.”
Head coach Darko Rajakovic said that Walter has worked hard to placed on muscle mass and get stronger over the course of the season and that it’s made a difference to how the young guard plays the sport.
“It really helps him with contact offensively and defensively,” said Rajakovic. “He’s just fearless on each ends, he’s not shying away of picking up full-court the first guys on the opposing teams.
“He can play with loads of force just about each night.”
Walter said that adding the eight or nine kilos of muscle is useful in Toronto’s bruising brand of defence.
“We compete, and everybody knows that we compete,” said Walter. “We’re physical, and that’s something that we’ve been attempting to do all 12 months, make our identity that way.
“I’m just comfortable where we’re right away, and I do know that we’re all going to proceed to grow.”
SHEAD SECOND
Rookie guard Jamal Shead — who got here off Toronto’s bench Friday — had nine assists to succeed in 290 on the season and surpass Jose Calderon (288) for second-most helpers by a Raptors rookie. Damon Stoudamire’s 653 assists within the 1995-96 season are probably the most by a rookie in team history.
“I believe it’s pretty cool but additionally a testament to my teammates,” said Shead in Toronto’s locker room. “I’ve got to pass them the ball, but they’ve also got to make the shots.
“Only a testament to the work and the chemistry that we’ve got. I’m really excited to be an element of this organization.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 4, 2025.
© 2025 The Canadian Press
