The Toronto Raptors had a successful 2025-26 season. Entering the year, no one had the Raptors where they ended up: 45-plus wins, a top-five seed, and a near second-round playoff berth, losing in seven to Cleveland. A huge part in the success of this entire season for Toronto was Brandon Ingram. However, with the way the fan base has treated BI as of late, you’d think he was a total zero all season.
It’s easy to see Ingram go out and average a disappointing 12.0 points per game while shooting 32.8 percent from the field, and the last thing we see is him heading to the locker room hurt.
That led some fans to suggest he quit on the team or wasn't built for the moment, which is simply ridiculous. Ingram got them to the postseason when they weren’t supposed to be there, and to throw that all away after one season is such a knee-jerk reaction from fans that needs to be put to bed. Especially considering the front office set him and the Raptors as a whole up for minimal success.
Raptors fans need to give Brandon Ingram a break
Many fans started pushing a narrative that when times got tough, he gave up on a team he was supposed to be leading.
That’s where my first beef comes in, as this team should have never been viewed as Ingram’s team, and that was simply the front office setting him up for failure. When Bobby Webster traded for BI, the media and front office pushed this agenda that he was the savior and the first option that Toronto was missing. Even though during his time with the New Orleans Pelicans, he showed he’s way better suited for a second or third-option role.
Being the guy has always been something that should fall on Scottie Barnes. He’s the reason they entered a rebuild; he’s the reason they moved on from OG and Spicy P, not Ingram. Barnes is the homegrown two-way stud, and with that, should come a spotlight.
I understand Ingram plays with a more aesthetic style, and sure, even as a No. 2, his stats in the playoffs were disappointing. My question is: does the Raptors roster have the tools to complement and make life easy for Ingram as a primary midrange creator? No.
This team has negative spacing at times, and that made it so easy for the Cavs to tighten things up and send two at Ingram and be physical with him. There’s a lack of support when it comes to late shot clock and isolation scoring, and Ingram also had no one he could rely on in the pick-and-roll to free him up.
I understand it can be frustrating to see the Raptors go out the way they did in the postseason without their star player playing at the level he is capable of. At the same time, it is so important to remember the lack of help and the poor position he was put in, not just come playoff time, but also during the 82-game season.
The Raptors have struggled to land free agents and lure them over the border for so long. Ingram is a star who wants to actually be here, and blowing things up now will only hurt the Raptors next season and, in the future, when trying to sign big-name players.
