Raptors Talk Ochai Agbaji's Upside & Tapping Into That Lottery-Pick Potential

The Toronto Raptors are hoping there's some untapped potential in Ochai Agbaji as a defense-first guard who can join the organization's young core

Wait until you see Ochai Agbaji jump.

Even in a league filled with the most gifted athletes in the world, there are some players who are just different. There are some that wow even those who have seemingly seen everything. Agbaji, the 23-year-old recently acquired Toronto Raptors guard, is one of those athletes.

“He’s one of the most physically talented players I’ve ever seen,” said Kelly Olynyk, an 11-year NBA veteran, who joined the Raptors alongside Agbaji in Toronto’s trade deadline deal with the Utah Jazz. “I've never seen somebody backpedaling to jump higher. He jumps higher backpedaling than a lot of guys do going forward.”

Agbaji has all the physical traits to be special. He’s 6-foot-5 with a 6-foot-10 wingspan and has the tools to be a defensive difference-maker. Need him to take on opposing guards? He can do that. Need him to play up a few positions against supersized wings? He can hold his own there too.

It’s not hard to see why teams were so excited about the former Kansas product coming out of the 2022 draft. He had just wrapped up winning a national championship with the Jayhawks as the tournament’s most outstanding player and it was no surprise when the Cleveland Cavaliers tabbed him with the No. 14 pick, a selection that was eventually flipped to Utah for Donovan Mitchell.

But through a year and half, Agbaji has been a bit of a disappointment at the NBA level. His three-point shooting hasn’t developed the way anyone would have hoped and he’s averaging just 6.7 points per game through his first 110 career games. His defense has been fine, but offensively it’s been difficult to watch.

But Toronto sees more in Agbaji.

“Hard working, high character, two-way player, kind of fits the bill of guys we’ve pursued over the years,” Raptors general manager Bobby Webster said following Thursday’s trade deadline. “We feel like we’re getting a young player with a lot of upside.”

It helps that Agbaji has been on Toronto’s radar for a while now. Raptors president Masai Ujiri has known Agbaji’s father for years and the hope is Toronto can make Agbaji feel a little more comfortable in his new environment.

“He was basically saying, you know, you're with family now,” Agbaji said of his phone call with Ujiri following the trade. “Now being here and yeah, he's right. It's like being with family.”

But the lovey-dovey only lasts so long.

The still-rebuilding Jazz essentially gave up on Agbaji, trading him and Olynyk away for a late first-round pick in a draft that’s considered to be particularly weak. While he remains a prospect in terms of NBA experience, he’s the same age as RJ Barrett and the NBA isn’t kind to older prospects who don’t develop quickly.

Agbaji knows that.

“I'm ready for this one,” Agbaji said of his opportunity in Toronto. “Ever since I got that call that phone call yesterday, I feel like it's a fresh new start, new team obviously, new coach, and new staff but a different approach at the same time too. Coming in here, doing everything, and giving you my all to win every single night.”

Agbaji said there’s more to his game he hasn’t shown yet, in part because of limited opportunities with the Jazz.

“He has a ceiling that’s pretty high and I don’t think he’s near it,” Olynyk said. “He can do a lot of things and I think he has an opportunity now to grow his game and show a little more and I’m looking forward to it.”

Toronto doesn’t need Agbaji to develop into some creative playmaker offensively, but if he can be a versatile defender and above-average three-point shooter, the Raptors will be happy.

For an organization that used to pride itself on its defense, Toronto has seemed to move in another direction lately, adding offense-first players to lead the way. Agbaji is a move back in the other direction.

“He showed that he's a very capable defensive player. I'm going to really challenge him on that side of the floor,” Raptors coach Darko Rajaković said. “We really want to see what he's capable of doing. Can he guard point guards? Can he guard threes and fours? This is going to be a good opportunity for him to showcase what he has and for us to evaluate his game and give him guidance.”

Considering where the Raptors are at this season, the runway for Agbaji will be long. He’ll get plenty of opportunities to show what he can do and if there’s still untapped skill to match his physical abilities, Toronto is determined to find it.