Grading the Toronto Raptors 2025 NBA Summer League Performance
With the 2025 NBA Las Vegas Summer League in the rearview mirror, the Toronto Raptors have not only left behind the sand and the crippling gambling addiction that comes with being in Sid City, but also their blood, sweat, and tears as this year’s group of guys put together one hell of a performance. And I’ll say the best showing in summer league and Raptors history. With next season supposed to be a step back into contention. I I mean hopefully this year at Summer League was very important as this roster featured a lot of our bench and rotation pieces whose development would be really important in order for us to make it back into the postseason. And I absolutely loved what I saw for the most part. The Raptors played absolutely ferocious defense all tournament long, which led to us having a 4-0 record and a spot in the playoffs, which unfortunately we fell short in. I know it’s just summer league, and it’s not anything to take too seriously. However, forcing 133 turnovers in just five games isn’t easy. This team was full of absolute dogs, and if you weren’t locked in on D, what did he say? You didn’t have a spot on the team. Now, predictably, the offense and the efficiency was a real struggle, and that is something to be taken very seriously heading into next season. However, if the bench could just play with this level of intensity on the defensive end, I’ll be okay. That’s all I’m asking for for now anyways. But enough beating around the bush. I mean, we all know why we’re here after all. That’s right. It’s time for me to get out my red pen and look over some work because for the 1 2 3 4 fifth year in a row, it’s time to hand out some grades for the Toronto Raptors at the NBA Las Vegas Summer League 2025 edition. But before we get to the grades, please remember to give this video a like, share with anybody you want to, and subscribe to the channel. I’ll greatly appreciate any support you’re willing to give. And if you want, please follow me on Tik Tok and Instagram @ sportsbut casually. And now, let’s get back to the video. And just like always, since there’s so many players competing for playing time, there will naturally be some players who would be on the court more than others. So, unfortunately, these players will not be receiving a grade this year. Annie Waniwa, Tate, Tit Jones, Tate Jones, I butchered that name. I do apologize. Tyson Deanhart, Tyreek Key, Cliff Omarui, Jacquel Joiner, and Quincy Gerrier. Again, I’ve probably butchered a lot of those names and I do apologize. The first player to be graded this year is the main attraction, the ninth pick in the 2025 NBA draft, Colin Murphy Boils. And I would say he was as advertised as he came out from college. He’s a freak of nature athlete who has a motor that’s always ready to go. He’s physical and he had his hand and his fingers and practically everything else on the defensive side of the ball. He was everywhere and he was racking up hella stocks. He had an impact on the defensive side right away. Now, does that mean he was perfect? Absolutely not. uh he had some offensive struggles uh especially in his first and last game, but you know, I could at least chalk one of those up to being like working off injury rust. So, there’s that. What more can I say about CMBB, man? He led the team in offensive rebounds and was second in total rebounds. Uh he was second on the team in blocks. However, you know, offensively, we did struggle a bit. He was, I think, like top three on the team in fouls and turnovers. So there’s those things on that aspect at least. He finished summer league as our defensive pillar, which is saying something. It’s a huge compliment when you consider just like how insane this team was defensively. Uh he was very active on the glass. Uh he showed some playmaking ability, but you know, as I highlighted, he is a little foul and turnover prone, but he had flashes of of offensive brilliance, and I’ll take that for now. I’m sure we’re only just scratching the surface of his potential and it’ll be interesting to see how he breaks into the Raptors rotation exactly. We’re all aware of, you know, his struggles and what he brings to the table, but like, you know, if he has like a consistent stretch of performances like he did against the Warriors, I honestly think that he could be in contention this year for rookie of the year, which is saying something. for his 2025 summer league performance. I’m going to give CNB a B+. And now we move on to our 39th pick in this year’s draft from the national champs Florida Gator. The team I picked to win March Madness. Even though I don’t watch college ball, I’m just pretty insanely smart. Elijah Martin. You know, he’s another high energy, athletic, defensively gifted player. and stepping on the court in summer league, Martin really picked up right where he left off and he just showed his grit and his relentless hustle on the court and I really like that about him. You know, whether it was getting out in transition, causing turnovers, acting as a secondary playmaker from time to time, you know, Martin really had his hand in like multiple pots for this team in summer league and it’s really kind of showed a master of none. No, that was more of an insult. a jack of all trades. That’s the phrase I’m looking for. Type of player. However, despite his tenacity, Martin, as we all expected, did struggle with his efficiency and just his scoring in general. Like, if it wasn’t coming in transition. Um, but what I really did enjoy about him, he did show a lot of potential, a lot of skill driving to the basket and drawing free throws and knocking down his free throws at a very efficient clip, you know, which is something easier said than done. And yes, I am looking at you, RJ. We need to get that free throw percentage up. His scoring was mediocre at best, but you know, he had a lot of impact plays coming off the bench and showed his potential to be a two-way player. So, for his 2025 NBA summer league performance, I’m going to give Elijah Martin a B minus. And now for our final rookie this season, our undrafted free agent from Louisville, Chucky Heep. And he is, you guessed it, a high energy defensive player. Damn, we really have a type, huh? You know, at first it used to be like 69 forwards who couldn’t shoot but could defend well. And now it evolved into like guys of any size who can’t shoot but could defend well. Okay. Chucky carried over his defensive prowess from the ACC to summer league as he provided elite perimeter defense. uh he caused a lot of havoc and turnovers and really got out there in transition. And what I really liked about him was that he did provide some playmaking and I would arguably say was our second best playmaker on the team. However, on offense it was a struggle. Like all five games he only knocked down like five shots. One of them was a like only one was a two-pointer. and like his free throw percentage does look pretty good, but he got all of his three free throw attempts like in his last game. So just on a whole his scoring was hard to come by for him. His efficiency was bad across the board and it didn’t really help that, you know, he had a habit of fouling a lot. His summer league stint didn’t really show us anything new per se. Uh spotty scoring at best, but a steady defensive presence and like some good playmaking ability. But yeah, for his 2025 summer league performance, I’m going to give Chucky Heburn a C++. Moving on to our sophomores, and the first one we have to get to is last year’s 19th overall pick, Jacobe Walter. He came into Vegas looking to build off of an impressive rookie season, and this did look very promising. uh he continued to flash his two-way ability and his big shot taker mentality, you know, which did lead to some inefficiency, but like in a weird way, I don’t really mind that. Outside of his like truly putrid game against the Warriors, Walter was a reliable offensive option. He showed flashes of being a true three-level scorer and he had the great ability to create for himself and get his own shot, which is a skill that will be pretty useful for the bench going into next season. He had multiple 15 plus point games in the summer league. He even had like a one like seven steel game. I think it was against the Nuggets. Uh so that really just showed like the energy that he was bringing to both sides of the ball. Now we have to focus on the negatives and nitpick a bit. you know, his three ball needs a lot of work. Like his playmaking ability was not I don’t want to say non-existent, that’s rude, but not really that good. And you know, just like a lot of our guys, like with so much effort you’re putting on a defensive end, he did have a tendency to foul a lot. He led he led us in total points and total shots taken. And I really do like the confidence on this guy. you know, he always used to take it upon himself to try to get this team out of an offensive drive spell, you know, which takes a lot of balls to do. Here’s hoping that he has a productive sophomore season with the team. And for his performance in the 2025 summer league, I’m going to give Jacobe Walter an A minus. Why not? And now we move on to last year’s 31st pick in the draft, Jonathan Mo. After an up and down rookie season last year, Mobo really came into Vegas looking to get a head start in solidifying a place in the rotation and I think he did a pretty good job. You know, he was very active, especially on the defensive end. Uh he made a lot of good rotations and he was very solid on the defensive side of the ball. Um you know, and I found he made a lot less mistakes on offense which, you know, really gave me a lot of hope that he’s starting to figure some things out. Last year his finishing around the rim was really bad. He had bad touch overall and I did find that that got a little better in summer league. You know, it really showed that he was working on it in the off season. Uh and he was still very active on the boards and you know I was impressed by it. Besides missing a game due to injury, some things that like I wasn’t too impressed by. You know, I wish he would have like attempted more threes. Like he only took two and like I did find his playmaking something that was like a real like skill last season. Like his playmaking was kind of meh. That was his overall summer league performance in my opinion. He didn’t do anything that was like wow so amazing. But in that same breath he also didn’t do anything that was like oh that was [ __ ] terrible. Just like solid consistent improvements across the board. And you know, I can’t really be too upset with that. For his performance in the 2025 Las Vegas summer league, I’m going to give Jonathan Mo a B minus. And now we move on to last year’s 45th overall pick, Jamal Shed, the player that I personally was expecting the most from in summer league. The reason for that is because now he’s the de facto backup point guard and we need to see general improvement from him. And I was really impressed by the shift he put in in Vegas. His summer league performance really highlighted his ability to orchestrate the offense uh handle the pressure of not only that but still being a active competitor on defense with his hands. You know, I thought there was steady to steady game toame improvement from him outside of the game against the Warriors which I think everybody just [ __ ] sucked that game. His playmaking was on point. I think it was 33 total assists throughout summer league. Um he averaged 6.6 6 assists per game, which fun fact is the second most assists per game in Raptor Summer League history. Why do I know that? Um, I have a lot of free time on my hands. That’s why. Now, like most players, if not majority of the players on this team, his offensive struggles were very apparent. His efficiency wasn’t that good. But, you know, he he’s a small guy, so his efficiency will always be a problem. And like let’s talk about the final game against the Kings in the semi-finals. Uh like a 20point double double like sparks uh come offensive comeback. Like I think we cut a leaf that was like 22 to like one. He truly was a beacon for this team on both ends of the floor. But for his performance at the 2025 NBA summer league, I’m I’m going to give Jamal Shed a B+. And now for our last 2024 drafty, Uridge Chry, who is unfortunately going to be the last Masaiiri project player. The former 57th overall pick and the first ever drafty from the NBA Africa Academy, Chongqi unfortunately suffered a season ending injury last no this year in February. I think it was a right partial MCL there. Um, which, you know, ended his season. So, like coming into summer league, like not only were my expectations low because he’s new to the game of basketball still, but he was also coming off an injury. So, it was extra low. However, I was very pleasantly surprised. I did not find that he like missed a beat like athletically. And you know, he did seem a lot sharper on the court that compared to last season in summer league. There were still mental lapses, don’t get me wrong, but you know, he really did show a lot of improvement and looks like he’s getting more comfortable with the game at this level. And I was really impressed by his defensive instincts. You know, he was super locked in on that side of the ball. First two games, 10 stocks. Uh those numbers did go down as some league went on, but he put together like good performance after good performance after good performance. And I think in the semi-finals, like he even started that game. Uh put up a absolute stink in it, not going to lie. But you know, he did at least got the start. But yeah, liked what I saw from Chongchi. Nothing too crazy. So for his 2025 um summer league performance, I’m going to give him a B minus. And now it’s time we get to arguably last year’s most impressive rookie, Jameson Battle. You know, it’s funny how things change. Uh just last year, Battle was walking into summer league looking to impress enough to get an exhibit 10 deal by any team after going undrafted. And this year, he walked into summer league with a fully guaranteed deal with the Raptors. You know, hats off to him. What a guy. What a story. What a [ __ ] shooter. And he showcased exactly why the Raptors chose to guarantee his bread for the upcoming season. his threepoint shooting prowess. Like he even had a buzzer beater and like he just showed that like hey I’m ready to take that next step to be a rotation piece. I did find that he showed a lot of effort on the defensive side of the ball or if that resulted in anything like positive. Uh I don’t really think so but he showed a lot of effort there. He didn’t do anything too flashy or out the ordinary but he shot the ball very well. and on this team, how it’s constructed right now, that is a skill that is in high demand. For his performance in the 2025 NBA Summer League, I’m going to give Jameson Battle a B+. I saved these last two players for last because these are the players that would be getting our awards this year for Summer League. First up, we’re going to get to the player that got the award that you don’t want to get, Colin Castleton. Colin came into summer league looking to lock up that third string center position. uh his competition with Chongchi and if you and like you would have thought that hey you know he’s still very new to the game and he’s coming off an injury you would think that Colin would use this kind of head start as his advant to his advantage and put in a good shift in Vegas and really go into preeason and go into training camp with like a head start on that position but unfortunately that did not happen. I’m not trying to rag on the guy. You know, it wasn’t all bad in my opinion. I did find that in the first two games, he rebounded very well and he got out there in transition as a runner and scored some easy baskets. So, that was nice. And outside of some rim protection, he really did struggle on the defensive side of the ball. He started getting his minutes cut like and I think he even lost his starting spot like if that matters too much in summer league. Uh like it’s just like he wasn’t physical and like his finishing was bad for like a guy his size. Like it was super concerning and then he just like kept turning the ball over. Colin was unable to capitalize on the head start he had over Chomche for that third string start um center position. And with the possibilities of going small ball, small ball with guys like Mo and even CMBB being there, uh, you know, his chances got slimmer and slimmer. And unfortunately, on the 28th of July, he was released by the Raptors. So, for his performance, I’m going to give Colin Castleton a D+. And he does pick up the LVP award for summer league, the least valuable player. But last but not least, we have the man of the hour, the MVP for the Raptors in summer league, the hometown boy himself, AJ Lawson. Coming into Vegas this year, Lawson was looking to replicate his solid summer league performance last year with the Mavericks so that he can remain with the Raptors come opening night. Um, let’s remember that his contract is non-g guaranteed and it doesn’t guar fully guarantee until I think it’s January 10th. So, he’s still basically fighting for a roster spot and he fought for that roster spot with his literal life, I’m assuming, because he came off the bench for the Raptors and was by far our best offensive player and put in like one of the best performances of the entire 2025 summer league for scoring wise, defensively wise, playmaking wise, you name it. Like AJ Lawson was top tier this year. three games of 19 plus points. Uh which included a perfect 21 point per game. Um but it wasn’t just on the offensive side like he was just as locked in on the defensive side of the ball as everybody else on this team. He averaged 2.6 stocks per game. Despite his injury in the four game stretch, he showed a lot of potential as a guy who sets the tone defensively. Anchor spark offense coming off the bench. And you know, I’m just super excited of, you know, what he can do for us coming off the bench this season. And if he keeps up this momentum heading into preeason and heading into training camp, there’ll be no doubt in my mind that come January 10th, he will be getting his full check from the Raptors. For his performance in the 2025 NBA Las Vegas Summer League, I’m going to give the MVP, you guessed it, an A+. Overall everybody, this like I’ve been watching and like well covering I’m not a journalist. Uh Raptor Summer League for five years. This was the most fun I’ve had watching summer league ball. Like summer league ball, you know, you get excited cuz like oh my god, I haven’t seen the our team play in like so long. But then like you realize it’s summer league and like it’s just like hopes for the sickos. Uh and I enjoyed every second of it. I’m trying to keep my hopes like you know it’s the hope that kills you. Shout outs to Atlas. So, I’m just trying to keep it at a minimum, but watching some of the got me pretty excited for this bench unit. Let me know what you guys think. Uh, what do you think of the grades? Who would you grade differently? And what are your expectations for the Benchmob Benchmob 2.0 heading into next season? I’d love to, you know, read them and hear about them in the comments below. And until next time, guys, uh, thanks for tuning in. And if you’re wondering why I have a hat on at um 11:41 at night in my room, uh got a haircut today and Baba [ __ ] me up. So yeah, got to take time off work. Nobody could see me like this. But until next video guys, y’all take care.
With the 2025 NBA Las Vegas Summer League drawing to a close, we were able to get a good look at majority of the young players that the Toronto Raptors. And now we can assess them their performance and give them grades.
I can honestly say that this year in Vegas was the best performance I have seen from the Toronto Raptors ever at this competition. The defensive intensity that the roster played with was insane and it earned up a 4-0 record and even a spot in the Playoffs where we ultimately fell short.
But now this means we have a lot of young players to look forward to. We had our 9th overall pick Collin Murray-Boyles who we drafted 19th overall in the 2024 NBA Draft, and our other rookies from last years draft, Ja’Kobe Walter, Johnathon Mogbo, Jamal Shead, Ulrich Chomche and Jamison Battle. There was also some other familiar faces like AJ Lawson and Colin Castleton
With so much to focus on, why don’t you guys join me as we hand out grades for all the players on the Toronto Raptors 2025 NBA Summer League Roster.
Links to my TikTok and Instagram 👉 https://linktr.ee/sportsbutcasually
Chapters:
Intro – 0:00
Ungraded Players – 2:06
Raptors Rookies: – 2:39
Sophmores – 7:49
Unguaranteed – 15:40
Outro – 19:27
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