Welcome to Raptors Republic’s new New Year tradition. As decided by you, the readers, it’s time to dive into the 10 most-read editorials of the year at Raptors Republic. You can find the full top-10 list of released articles for 2025 (as each one is released) here.
I limited the list to editorials because news items and other pieces can often have more reads than columns. But these pieces — and I’m including post-game pieces — are the ones that take the most work, and in my eyes have the most value. So they’re the ones included in this list.
The year of 2025 has been one defined maybe most by wild swings of emotion for the Toronto Raptors. Toronto traded for Brandon Ingram, which allowed it to continue to tank to end the year. Then the team didn’t rise in the draft and added Collin Murray-Boyles. The season started, and the team looked great! (For one game.) Then terrible, then great, now terrible again. A real roller coaster.
Through it all, there has been comprehensive coverage here at Raptors Republic. Some of the top stories include reactions to that trade for Ingram, that Murray-Boyles pick, the collapse of the team’s fortunes over the previous few weeks. We’ve been here, with you, watching it all unfold. If 2026 is anything similar, we could lose five years of our lives.
Without further ado, the No. 9 most-read story at Raptors Republic of 2025: “The Toronto Raptors are a basketball disaster” by me
The hope, the most optimistic hope possible, is that the Raptors simply are outclassed by size. And there could be something to that. The Milwaukee Bucks (Giannis Antetokounmpo, Myles Turner), Dallas Mavericks (Anthony Davis, Dereck Lively II), San Antonio Spurs (Victor Wembanyama), and Houston Rockets (all) are simply enormous teams. Perhaps the four largest in the league? Or, at least, four of the five — the Cleveland Cavaliers are coming up next. (Hold on to your butts.)
Toronto’s scattered defensive chaos is perhaps most undermined by size, as it uncovers the offensive glass with defensive bigs running wild all over the place and not in the paint to secure boards. (Houston had more offensive rebounds in the first quarter than Toronto had defensive ones. Watching your team get outrebounded so brutally has to be one of the worst experiences a player or coach or front office member can suffer. There’s no grace, no artistry, no beauty. Just pain, slumped shoulders, and a parade to the free-throw line.)
And Toronto’s style of offence is entirely predicated on paint passing, paint touches, paint attempts, paint everything. Yet no one on the team is capable of scoring with ease when attacking enormous paint protectors. Barnes might be the best option there, but he is challenged at getting to the rim when faced by digs — another threat from uniquely long and tall teams.
So, maybe Toronto is just on a slide facing teams that constitute their kryptonite. Maybe.
Still, that wouldn’t explain the absolute passionless-yet-frantic nature of their rotations. The aimlessness of their doubles. The confusion of their defensive strategy.
You can read the rest of the piece here. And tune in tomorrow for number eight!
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