Welcome to the Toronto Raptors prospect power rankings, a recurring piece that will recap and rank every Toronto Raptors prospect weekly. A “prospect” will be defined as any rookie, player on a two-way contract, player who has been on assignment, or anyone currently on the Raptors 905.
After taking a week off for the all-star break, the Toronto Raptors and Raptors 905 have returned, and so have the prospect rankings.
Both teams have hit the ground running since getting back to work, with the big club claiming wins on the road against the Chicago Bulls and Milwaukee Bucks, while the junior Dinos won back-to-back high-scoring games against the Windy City Bulls.
Without further ado, let’s dive into this week’s rankings.
() = last week’s ranking
1. Collin Murray-Boyles (1)
Unsurprisingly, Murray-Boyles remains at the top of this list. The ninth overall pick continues to fit in like a glove with the Raptors, whether starting or coming off the bench, averaging 9.5 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 2.0 stocks a game last week.
2. Jamison Battle (NR)
After not being featured on this list as he’s been with the big team all year, the second-year sharpshooter made his return to the Mississauga squad and did not disappoint.
Battle finished with 22 points, eight assists, three rebounds, one block, and drilled six shots from deep against the Windy City Bulls early in the week, earning him the post-game chain.
The 24-year-old also saw nine minutes of game action against the Bucks with the big team, putting up five points (2-for-2 from the field) and three rebounds.
3. A.J. Lawson (2)
Brampton, Ont., native A.J. Lawson continues to put up big offensive numbers with the 905 and make some noise.
The Canadian wing averaged 25.5 points, 5.0 rebounds, 2.5 assists, and 1.0 steals last week while continuing to embody what the 905’s identity is in terms of pace, point of attack defence, and 3-point shooting.
4. Alijah Martin (3)
It was a tale of two games for Martin on the week, as after struggling a little bit in the first game, the rookie guard responded in a big way in game two.
The 24-year-old finished with a team-high 26 points to go along with seven rebounds, five assists, and four steals, leading the way for the 905 in their second straight win.
5. Jonathan Mogbo (6)
After a long stint back up with the big team, Mogbo returned to the 905 for a couple of games leading into the break and remains back now.
The sophomore forward started with an efficient 22-point, nine-rebound, five-assist, and four-steal performance, before only playing 15 largely not impactful minutes to close the week in game two.
6. Olivier Sarr (7)
After missing two games with left knee soreness before the break, the French centre looked fresh in the pair of games against the junior Bulls.
Sarr averaged 17.5 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 1.0 blocks while shooting 75.0 per cent from the field last week, putting together one of his better series on the season as a whole.
7. Tyreke Key (11)
After missing the final three games with a right calf contusion heading into the all-star break and only averaging 4.5 points and 1.0 assists while shooting 25.0 per cent in his final two games he played, Key looked much better off some rest.
The 27-year-old put up 17.5 points on 62.5 per cent shooting to go along with 2.5 assists and 2.5 rebounds, getting back to the production he was showing early in the season.
8. Julian Reese (4)
After a recent stretch of strong play, Reese took a bit of a step back last week.
After averaging a double-double leading into the all-star break, the rookie big man averaged 7.0 points, 8.0 rebounds, and 1.5 blocks last week.
Those are still solid numbers, but Reese has set the bar higher for himself.
9. Jarkel Joiner (8)
The 26-year-old Joiner has started in the absence of two-way point Chucky Hebpurn, and continued to do so last week. In two games, the first-year 905er put up 14.0 points, 6.5 assists, 2.5 rebounds, and 1.0 steals.
10. AJ Hoggard (9)
Hoggard continues to back up Joiner at the lead guard spot and has a case to be higher on this list moving forward.
The 25-year-old amazingly put up 23 total assists to only four turnovers last week, but the rest of his game needs to continue to develop and be more consistent night-to-night to get real traction.
11. Tyson Degenhart (10)
Degenhart continues to be near the back of the rotation, though he saw significant minutes in the final game of the week and made the most of it.
After only getting eight minutes and finishing as a minus-9 in the opening game, the 23-year-old finished with 19 points and was a game-high plus-20 in 22 minutes in the final game of the week.
If Degenhart can continue to stack good performances and remain efficient, he can climb this list.
12. Tylor Perry (12)
Perry brings up the rear once again after failing to see game action. In his three games played thus far, he’s averaged 3.0 points, 2.0 rebounds, and 2.0 assists.
In 20 games with the 905 last season, the 25-year-old averaged 6.0 points, 1.7 assists, and 1.5 rebounds while shooting 34.1 per cent from the field and 32.3 per cent from distance.
NR – Chucky Hepburn, Quincy Guerrier, David Roddy, Patrick McCaw
Hepburn certainly would have been near the top of these power rankings all year, but he is currently on the shelf recovering from a meniscus tear in his right knee. According to the initial timetable, he should have been recently re-evaluated.
Guerrier has now missed eight straight games with a right ankle sprain and remains on the sidelines. In his last game on Jan. 26 against the Osceola Magic, the Montreal native put up 24 points, 12 rebounds, and one steal.
Patrick McCaw hasn’t played in the two games post-break due to personal reasons, while David Roddy has also been absent as he was named to the USA’s World Cup qualifying team and is currently in camp ahead of matches later this month.
