The Raptors’ $120 million gamble on Brandon Ingram looks like a steal. Are they the right candidate?

The Toronto Raptors entered the 2025-26 season having won just 55 games over the last two seasons. For reference, their title-winning team in 2019 won 58 games, and the year after that they won 53 of 72 games. That’s it how far the Raptors have fallenand it was not entirely clear when it would return to its usual fighting ways from 2014 to 2022.

It was a bit of a headache at the time The Raptors became the team that traded Brandon Ingram. Ingram was falling out of favor with the New Orleans Pelicans and was approaching free agency. The Pelicans then hesitated to offer him a contract extension, opening the way for Toronto to acquire him.

To protect your investment, The Raptors made peace with Ingram to a three-year, $120 million contract extension, though the versatile scoring winger was sidelined at the time with persistent ankle issues. Ingram even played in just 18 games last year for the Pelicans, making it a risky move for Toronto.

This only further complicated the Raptors’ cap list, as they were now on the hook for big-money ideals for Ingram, Scottie Barnes, Immanuel Quickley and RJ Barrett. They also signed Jakob Poeltl to a contract extension, further clogging their cap space.

Little did everyone know at the time that this was simply Masai Ujiri’s genius at work. Now, the Raptors didn’t exactly let Ujiri go because of his vision for building the roster. They also weren’t opposed to him plugging the team’s cap. They simply did not come to terms with him regarding a new contract extension.

But Ingram is proving to be the star the Raptors needed to take the next step. Do they have what it takes to compete in the Eastern Conference?

How is Brandon Ingram changing the fortunes of the Raptors?

On Wednesday night, with a chance to go 4-0 in the group stage of the NBA Cup, the Raptors found themselves in a closer-than-expected battle against the Indiana Pacers. The game was tied at 95 with less than 10 seconds left in the game. The Raptors have a lot of capable players, and Barnes and Quickley are two of those players.

Instead of going for it himself, Quickley laid it off to Ingram — handing him the ball near the half-court line to isolate against Pascal Siakam. Ingram then broke away almost nonchalantly before attacking Siakam, stopping on a cent from midstream and stopping for his favorite 14-footer, pushing home the green bucket for Raptors on their way to a 97-95 victory.

This moment was very telling. Quickley could have easily called his number and tried to beat the Raptors on his own. Barnes, as the Raptors’ supermax guy, could have demanded the ball in the post to try to at least draw defenders into creating open looks.

But for The Raptors’ first instinct is to give the ball to Ingram and let him go to work pretty much speaks to how the team sees him. He’s the leader of the team, and Barnes even said as much when he revealed that part of the team’s game plan is to “give Ingram the ball and get out of the way.”

Ingram is the type of wing shot creator that every contending team needs these days. He can score from all three levels and thrives whenever he is at the helm of a team that can provide him with enough support in other areas of the game that he lacks. For example, the 2024 Pelicans-Oklahoma City Thunder playoff series revealed plenty of flaws in Ingram’s game.

If he’s the absolute best player on the team, Ingram can contend. Luguentz Dort closed it during that playoff run, and with the Pelicans lacking sufficient shot creators other than himself and CJ McCollum, Ingram looked lost — averaging just 14.3 points on 34.5 percent shooting.

But this Raptors team can surround him with exactly the weapons he needs to succeed. He has incredible defensemen around him in Poeltl and Barnes. Ingram struggles to get to the basket at times; Barrett is the best on the team and allows the team to pressure the rim. He is also not the team’s primary ball handler; Quickly grows into a responsible general who organizes the team’s attack. It’s no coincidence that the Raptors are posting the fourth-best offense in the league right now.

There are so many complementary skill sets on this Raptors roster, and they thrive as a result. They needed a tall perimeter shot maker who can get his buckets in the clutch, and that’s exactly what Ingram brings to this roster.

Can Toronto compete in the East?

The The Eastern Conference is wide open right now. The New York Knicks are reeling. The Boston Celtics are shorthand. That Detroit Pistons team was very impressive, but no success. Will anyone even believe the Cleveland Cavaliers in a playoff scenario?

The good thing about this Raptors roster is that there is so much playoff viability for their main guys on the roster. Barnes is a two-way force who can defend anyone on the floor.

They also have the benefit of several young, two-way players like Collin Murray-Boiles, Ja’Kobe Walter and Ochai Agbaji on the team. Walter, in particular, played so well against the Pacers that he ended up earning minutes on the wing (he was a plus-21 on the night). Grady Dick also emerges as an X-factor, a potential scoring machine who has yet to hit his stride this season.

It’s too early to tell if this Raptors team can really contend or if they’re just a mere pretender. But their net rating of plus-6.5 the start of the year is a promising sign that they are unlucky only in these victories. They’ve won nine straight and are 14-5 on the season, and things are looking up in the north.

The Raptors are doing a lot of sustainable things in their all-you-can-eat offense led by Ingram. And given how well they’ve played in dominance against a soft schedule, they might be able to translate this type of play when competing against tougher opponents.

Verdict: A real contender, especially in the East