Raptors Betting Big on Ingram’s Future: "They Want to Make Me an All-Star Again"

The Toronto Raptors think a few tweaks to Brandon Ingram's game can get him back to being an All-Star caliber player again

Dec 5, 2024; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; New Orleans Pelicans forward Brandon Ingram (14) reacts to making a three point basket against the Phoenix Suns during the first half at Smoothie King Center. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-Imagn Images / Stephen Lew-Imagn Images

Brandon Ingram dribbled backward at the top of the arc, searching for an opening as the shot clock ticked down. The Toronto Raptors had snuffed out New Orleans’ initial action. Now, it was up to Ingram to create something on his own. 

Scottie Barnes stepped up to challenge him. Ingram waited for a screen from Larry Nance Jr., then attacked. One dribble left. He rose into a pull-up three. 

Bucket. His fifth three-pointer of the quarter. 

And he wasn’t finished. 

Toronto knew it. The Raptors tried everything to force the ball out of his hands. But Ingram kept moving, slipping off the ball and using another Nance screen to create just enough space.

Jose Alvarado zipped a pass his way. Two defenders closed in, but Ingram was unfazed. He elevated, released, and watched the ball drop through again. 

“He scored 43 points against us, I did not forget that,” Raptors coach Darko Rajaković said Wednesday night as he reflected on what makes Ingram so special. “He’s a player that can definitely do a lot. He can shoot from three, he has an amazing mid-range game, he can take it to the rim. He’s just a basketball hooper.” 

The Raptors are hoping they’ve landed that version of Ingram from the Pelicans. At his best, he looks like an offensive star, creating shots for himself and others as well as anyone in the league. Yet, nine years into his NBA career, he has only one All-Star appearance to his name, held back by injuries and an overreliance on mid-range shots. 

“Well, the first thing I heard is they want to make me an All-Star again,” Ingram said on Wednesday after inking a three-year, $120 million contract extension. “I want to come here and learn. I want to come here and be a sponge, shift the culture, make it a winning culture, and come in here and just listen.” 

The first step in that plan is getting Ingram back to full health and keeping him there. Toronto is expected to be cautious with the 27-year-old as he works his way back from a severe ankle injury. Beyond that, it will be up to the Raptors’ medical staff to keep him on the court, where he hasn’t played more than 65 games in a season since his rookie year. 

There’s reason for optimism that things could be different in Toronto. The Raptors are confident in their medical staff, led by Alex McKechnie, who famously helped Kawhi Leonard manage his workload en route to a championship in his last fully healthy season. And then there’s the reality of where Ingram is coming from. The injury voodoo that has haunted New Orleans for years might finally be behind him. 

On the court, Toronto is going to want to see some changes too. 

Ingram is an exceptional isolation scorer who can hit pull-up jumpers and create good looks out of bad situations at a remarkably high level. But the Raptors want to make his life easier and more efficient by tweaking his approach. 

That means limiting how often he settles for long mid-range jumpers. Ingram ranks alongside DeMar DeRozan and Kevin Durant among the league’s most frequent long mid-range shooters over the past two years, but Toronto wants to shift those attempts a few feet back. The hope is to turn deep twos into pull-up and catch-and-shoot threes, where Ingram has been a 37% shooter over the last eight seasons. 

There’s also the way Ingram plays. He’s never been the type to generate easy buckets by cutting behind the defense and capitalizing on someone else’s playmaking. 

“My game, of course I like to have the basketball in my hands, but also, I like to pass too,” Ingram said. “Going on the floor with high-IQ guys, it always helps. And I think our team has a lot of high-IQ guys, so I'll figure it out. Moving without the basketball, having the basketball in my hands, whatever is needed, I'll figure it out.” 

It will take some adjustment. 

That doesn’t mean Toronto doesn’t want Ingram to be a high-usage player. The Raptors have other creators now, and the hope is that spreading responsibilities will make life easier for everyone. 

“I think they’re gonna complement each other really well because all of those guys can create off the dribble, they can create their own shot, they’re unselfish, they like to move the ball, they like to play for a team,” Rajaković said of Toronto’s core now including Ingram. “I think they’re gonna be a really good fit together.” 

But will it work? 

That’s what Toronto can’t be entirely sure of. Ingram isn’t some fresh face still finding his footing. He has built a career on being a tough shot-maker and it’s not as if other coaches haven’t tried to tweak his game before. 

The Raptors believe they can get more out of him. They see a star still waiting to fully break out. 

Now, it’s up to Ingram to prove them right.

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