As they look to re-tool their roster, the Toronto Raptors acquired one more building block for their younger core.
With the 19th pick in the first round of the NBA Draft, they snagged guard Ja’Kobe Walter out of Baylor, a strong two-way guard that should fit well with their movement-heavy offence and help with their glaring lack of point-of-attack defence down the stretch last season.
A highly ranked recruit, Walter comes in as a five-star guy and the eighth-best in the class of 2023, per 247 Sports. He had an up-and-down season at Baylor but will look for consistency as he transitions to the Association.
Despite that, he earned Big 12 Freshman of the Year honours, beating out guys like Kansas’ Johnny Furphy and Baylor teammate Yves Missi.
Nothing is for certain until we see how he looks on the floor as part of an ever-changing Raptors roster, but for now, here’s a closer look at how Walter could fit with his new team.
Age: 19
Position: G/F
Height: 6-foot-4.25 (without shoes) | Weight: 198 lbs. | Wingspan: 6-foot-10
2024 Stats: 14.5 points, 4.4 rebounds, 1.4 assists, 1.1 steals .376/.341/.792 shooting splits
Versatile shooter and driver
Don’t let the shooting percentages fool you, his 37.6 field goal percentage and 34.1 3-point percentage aren’t nearly as bad as those hit-rates would indicate.
A great comparison for those numbers, particularly when looking at a player in a similar situation, would be another former Baylor player Keyonte George, who went to the Utah Jazz in last year’s draft.
With a similarly scoring-deprived Baylor team, George scored 15.3 a game on .376/.338/.793 splits but once he got to the league, he had games that had Raptors fans wishing he had been picked 13th overall, routinely scoring 20+ points on solid efficiency.
That’s just been the nature of the Bears the past few years. Walter just had to pick up the slack on the offensive side and at times play some hero-ball to make sure they can keep their head above the water.
When watching Walter play, it’s clear that the mechanics and skills are there for those similarly shaky stats to even out at the next level. His form is pure, his jump is high, and his work as a movement shooter should be particularly enticing to Raptors fans, who routinely showcases some skill pulling up off screens or handoffs.
His game against Houston stands out as one of his marquee performances in college. Against the second-best defence in the country per Kenpom, Walter let his scoring prowess shine, going after defensive stud Jamal Shead for 23 points on 7-for-13 from the field and 5-for-10 from deep.
More than anything, look at his numbers as him showing his confidence as a scorer, always willing to carry that load for his team and get the ball in the bucket under pressure.
On drives, he’s an aggressive, downhill guy who can maneuver tight spaces well to get around the trees under the rim. He’s got a quick first step, perfect for cutting and getting into the paint from the top of the key on handoffs. He also draws fouls a ton, putting up 5.2 shots from the charity stripe per game in his freshman season, a skill that not many on the current Raptors roster really have.
Though he doesn’t have the athleticism to elevate for at-rim finishes or the ball-handling ability to truly create his own shot, that won’t be what’s asked for him in the Raptors’ ball-movement-heavy offence. With guys like Immanuel Quickley and Scottie Barnes running the offence, if Walter can be a complimentary piece, bringing in a solid 10 points a night off the bench, then the Raptors will be getting exactly what they hoped for on that end.
The right frame and length to be a Raptor
Positional size has been the name of the game in the NBA, and particularly for the Raptors over the last few years. Though Toronto has veered away from ‘vision 6-9,’ the league certainly hasn’t strayed from wanting bigger, longer guys that can slot in on the wing.
Walter has the right length for today’s league, with a rangy six-foot-10 wingspan and a frame that looks like it hasn’t yet finished developing muscle.
He wasn’t necessarily the defensive-stopper that his build suggests he could be in college, but the measurements are there for him to add that to his game at the next level, especially as someone who should slot in at the two for Toronto.
His build is similar to current Raptor Ochai Agbaji. The former Kansas product measured at six-foot-4.5 at the combine without shoes and followed it up with a six-foot-10.25 wingspan and the muscle mass to boot.
Agbaji, a four-year collegiate player for the Jayhawks, earned his spot in due part to his athleticism and his work on the defensive side of the ball. That’s not to say he didn’t pour it in, scoring 18.8 points a game in his senior year, but he started off his collegiate career as an energetic guard with good positional size, capable of guarding multiple positions because of that.
He’s a strong on-ball defender who routinely took on some tougher point-of-attack assignments with Baylor and used his length well to disrupt passing lanes. Though the Raptors have veered from their long, rangy team-building style, Walter could bring back some of that attitude and identity.
More of a connective passer than a true playmaker
Even as the primary scoring engine at Baylor, Walter was never really asked to create his own shot or be a lead guard.
Functioning as more of an off-ball guy on offence, Walter poured it in off-handoffs, screens and some side-steps and hesitations at the perimeter every so often. But when it comes to breaking his defender down and finding his own look, or a look for a teammate, that just wasn’t his game.
Luckily for him, as stated earlier, that won’t be what the Raptors will ask him to do.
Much like Gradey Dick last year, he’ll be used in a more off-ball role where he’s able to use his solid offensive IQ and new dynamic scheme to find open looks on cuts, on catch-and-shoot looks or off of quick actions.
But if the looks aren’t there for him once he gets the ball, he has the heads-up ability to find the next guy, and that’s all the Raptors can really ask of him.
He won’t be a lead playmaker, capable of driving the offence. That’s what Barnes and Quickley are there for. But he can read the floor well without the ball — a consequence of his off-ball duties in high school and college — and find that extra guy if his own action breaks down.
Walter also handles pressure well and doesn’t seem to get scared if his shot isn’t falling or if defenders collapse on his actions, meaning that he’ll keep his head up and find the right safety valve instead of letting the playfully break down.
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