The following is part of Raptors Republic’s series of pieces reviewing the season for the Toronto Raptors. You can find all the pieces in the series here.
Well Raptors fans, it’s been a rollercoaster of a season. However, one of the best parts of this ride was six-foot-three guard, Immanuel Quickley.
Do you remember, Immanuel’s first game in Toronto? He captured our hearts, catching a beautiful pass from RJ Barrett, and hitting his first three of the game. Or when he hit that second three and pulled out the iconic skipping celebration. Finally letting out a sigh of relief that we added some much-needed spacing to the team. Quickley finished his debut game with 14 points, six rebounds, three assists, and two steals.
How did Immanuel Quickley improve when he came to Toronto?
Quickley played 30 games with the New York Knicks before getting traded to the Toronto Raptors, where he played 38 games. So, did Quickley improve after this trade? Let’s take a look at the chart below. (Credit to Coty Wiles for the chart comparison idea)
| Stats (Per Game) | New York | Toronto |
| Points | 15.0 | 18.6 |
| Assists | 2.5 | 6.8 |
| Rebounds | 2.6 | 4.8 |
| Steals | 0.5 | 0.9 |
| 2PA (two-pointers attempted) | 5.8 | 7.6 |
| 2P% | 50% | 44% |
| 3PA (three-pointers attempted) | 5.4 | 7.1 |
| 3P% | 39% | 39% |
| FG% (Field goal percentage) | 45% | 42% |
The guard had to take on the challenge of having a bigger role in Toronto and thrived. Toronto needed someone to not only help create offence for others but to help knock down shots from beyond the arc. Even though this was a big challenge, I.Q. improved on every major statistic, setting career highs in points, assists, and rebounds. As soon as Immanuel touched the floor, he fit right into the Raptors’ offence. The guard also set his career high in assists on March 7th, 2024, when he dished out 18 assists for the Raptors against the Suns.
Quickley was up there with the elites when it came to scoring in transition, scoring around 5.2 points, with only 14 other players in the NBA scoring more than him.
Two statistics jump out to me as soon as I look at this chart is, Quickley’s improvement in his assists and his three-point percentage.
First off, let’s take a look at his assists. I.Q. almost tripled his assists from his time in New York. While Quickley isn’t a Steve Nash or Chris Paul-type passer, the pick-and-roll has worked well for him here in Toronto. Running the pick-and-roll with Scottie and Jakob was his bread and butter this year and helped Toronto’s offence flow a lot more smoothly. Players like Scottie and Jakob are great passers themselves, so even if the help defender comes to contest the shot when rolling, they can spot the open man out there. Also, with Quickley’s solid three-point shooting, he draws attention, which can create space for whoever the Roller is.
Speaking of his three-point shooting, the second thing that jumped out to me was his consistency, even with three more three-point attempts in Toronto, Quickley was able to keep his three-point percentage the same. Usually in cases where someone has to take more threes, their three-point percentage would take a hit, simply because of the volume. However, that isn’t the case with I.Q. In some specific areas, he even improved his shooting on the floor. During the 30 games he played with the Knicks, Quickley shot 36.6% from the left wing, and 29.2% from the left corner. He would improve in both of these areas throughout his season with Toronto, shooting 43.6% from the left wing, and 33.3% from the left corner.
Overall, Quickley’s first time in Toronto was a success. He improved on nearly every aspect of his game and plans to improve on the defensive end as well. In an article for All Raptors written by Aaron Rose, Quickley talks to Jrue Holiday about how he can get better defensively.
“He was one person that hit me up about how I play defence, what I like to do, what I see,” Celtics All-Defense guard Jrue Holiday told AllRaptors. “I’ve talked to Quick quite a bit about that.”
Raptors fans should be excited to see that Quickley is determined to improve no matter what it takes. With I.Q. having a six-foot-eight wingspan, he has room to grow and even become an elite defender.
Hopefully, Quickley decides to resign with the Raptors, and continues to gel and develop with this young core. I truly believe that he can grow into an all-star level guard and help this team get back to its winning ways.
