This is a part of an off-season series by Esfandiar Baraheni, breaking down one skill for each Raptor heading into the 2025-2026 season that could change their career. Check out the video below.
While the 2024-2025 season will likely be forgettable for most Raptors fans, one of the major bright spots for the organization was the young group of players they acquired in the 2024 NBA draft. While all of Jonathan Mogbo, Jamison Battle, Jamal Shead, and Ulrich Chomche showed promise of developing into legitimate rotation players in the NBA, it was 19th overall pick Ja’Kobe Walter who stood out the most.
Walter played in 52 games for the Raptors, starting in 18 of them, and while his box score stats don’t jump off the page, he shot 40% on his threes from January onwards, poured in a season-best 27 points against the Houston Rockets, hit a wild game-winner against the Orlando Magic and was one of the best defensive weapons on a team that was the seventh-best defense in the league, in the final 50 games of the year.
In a league that is increasingly emphasizing the importance of high pick-up points and point-of-attack defense, Walter represents an ideal for the Raptors in terms of how they want to play defensively: he’s long, quick, nimble, and excels at pressuring the ball.
So why is this his swing skill? Because it’s his calling card.
Walter’s defensive skill set is the key to unlocking more minutes for himself and potentially even earning a spot in the starting lineup. It’s his pathway to staying on the floor to develop the other aspects of his game. And the more he impresses in that area, the more important he becomes for the team.
Not only is it his individual swing skill, but it could also swing the Raptors’ season.
Walter is already an excellent defender in several areas. He ranked in the 85th percentile guarding isolations, 88th percentile guarding spot-ups, and 86th percentile guarding off screens. What does all that mean? Well, it means he’s great at defending closeouts, occupying space on the help side, understanding his distance from an off-ball player, using his quick feet to contest shots, or stopping a drive. In isolation situations, he’s excellent at pressuring the ball, using his hands to time deflections and pokeouts. Against quicker guards, he’s great at using his speed. Against bigger, bruising players who create separation, he’s excellent at using his length to shorten the gap.
Admittedly, some of this is within a team context. Walter can gamble and play aggressively because of the infrastructure around him. Between Mogbo, Scottie Barnes, and Jakob Poeltl, the Raptors have the help side rim protection that provides Walter the safety cushion to pressure the ball like he does.
Still, there are areas where Walter needs to improve defensively, and this is where he can increase his utility to the team. Walter struggled navigating pick-and-rolls last season, particularly maneuvering around screens. Opponents scored 1.25 points per possession when he was guarding the pick-and-roll ball handler, ranking in the 4th percentile — it was a sore spot for an otherwise talented defender.
Part of this is becoming stronger. Too often last year, Walter was leveled by a screen, unable to recover. But the other part is timing and footwork. Very good pick-and-roll defenders understand the nuances and rhythms of the action, anticipating when a screen is coming and at what angle. This sort of thing will take time for Walter to develop, but given his acumen in virtually every other defensive aspect, it’s safe to say he will likely become significantly better than ranking in the 4th percentile.
And this is where he’ll earn his minutes next season to sharpen his instrument offensively.
For all of his defensive prowess, Walter’s offense is a work in progress. His shooting will be important to keeping him on the floor next season for a team that’s looking to win games, and it’s a good sign that he finished the season knocking down 40% of his looks. But he struggled from practically everywhere else, particularly at the rim, where he shot just 45% in his rookie year.
The one bright spot is that he knew how to draw fouls and get to the free-throw line. Walter was 6th in free-throw rate in his rookie class. This aspect of his game will be crucial as he refines his driving game. The trickle-down effect to becoming a good shooter is that defenses will begin running Walter off the line, similar to what they do with Gradey Dick, and Walter, much like Dick, will have to do more with the ball, whether that’s finishing at the basket, drawing fouls, or developing a mid-range shot.
But the defense is where his bread and butter will be next season. Walter is going to be tasked with defending at a high level, and that is his biggest advantage over Gradey and RJ Barrett, which might help him eventually play starter-level minutes.
The Raptors’ bench is unproven. But if players like Walter lean into what makes them impactful, then there will be more than enough utility for that same inexperienced bench to become actual depth. And that might be the difference between the Raptors being an interesting play-in team in the Eastern Conference and a sure-fire playoff one.
That’s how important Ja’Kobe is.
