Raptors head coach Darko Rajakovic already looking ahead to next season

TORONTO — As far as Darko Rajakovic is concerned, there is no off-season.

Rajakovic had his year-end news conference Tuesday morning at OVO Athletic Centre, the Raptors’ dedicated training facility. Toronto’s head coach said he had already sketched out his players’ development plans for the summer well before the Raptors were eliminated from the NBA playoffs by the Cleveland Cavaliers.

“I already have 40, 50 per cent of my first team meeting ready for next year,” said Rajakovic at the start of his news conference. “Probably like two, three months ago, I started already planning the summer, planning the next season, starting making a bunch of notes.

“That’s an ongoing process. That never stops.”

Rajakovic was named Toronto’s 10th head coach in June 2023 with a mandate to develop the team’s young core of players built around 2022 rookie of the year Scottie Barnes.

The Raptors picked up the team option on Rajakovic’s contract in March 2025, keeping him locked up through the 2026-27 season.

“It really never stops,” said Rajakovic on his work to develop his players’ skills. “It’s constantly finding ways how to improve, how to get better, how to help players, how to stay in their corner.

“That’s a process that’s underway now.”

Although his emphasis has always been on helping young players like Barnes, RJ Barrett, Jamal Shead, Ja’Kobe Walter and Collin Murray-Boyles improve, Toronto took a step forward in the 2025-26 campaign.

The Raptors had a 46-36 record in the regular season, improving Rajakovic’s career record as a head coach in the NBA to 101-145, all with Toronto. They were the fifth seed in the Eastern Conference, pushing the fourth-seed Cleveland Cavaliers to seven games in the first round of the playoffs.

After Toronto’s Game 7 loss on Sunday, Rajakovic called the season “an absolute success” but had a short list of things he wanted to see his team improve.

“I think we did a good job this year with defence and the way we’re guarding the ball but I think us having more paint protection is something that we can take a look at,” said Rajakovic. “I think continuing to develop the offensive side of the ball with individual improvement of players, of their shooting, is going to be very, very important for us.”

Toronto’s playoff run was also a personal triumph for Rajakovic as he became the first non-American coach to reach the league’s playoffs after leading a team for an entire season.

Rajakovic said he learned a lot about the difference between the regular season and playoffs.

“It’s not about complicated plays. It’s about making simple plays. It’s about execution of those simple plays,” said Rajakovic. “If you look at a simple play of pick-and-roll, if it’s a guard-guard pick and roll, making sure it’s a good setup, making sure you are coming alone to set a screen so you can create an advantage.

“There is going to be physicality. It’s not going to be easy to create those gaps and advantages. It’s really working on the fundamentals of the game.”

Rajakovic said that all-star forward Brandon Ingram will see a specialist about his right-heel inflammation later this week. Point guard Immanuel Quickley is going to miss a couple of weeks as he recovers from his right hamstring strain.

Both are expected to be ready for next season.

Rajakovic said he’ll also be looking in the mirror over the summer.

“I really want to continue my development on mental performance,” said Rajakovic, adding that he works with mental performance coach Brian Cain. “That’s going to be one thing that I’m going to really focus on continuing, growing in that area this year, and it’s always continuing to find more answers to be one per cent better.

“How we can get better offensively and defensively? Everything really revolves around how do we help our players. How can I be a better leader for them? How can I help them to be more productive on the court?”

Raptors general manager Bobby Webster, who is the head of the team’s basketball operations, will speak with the media in his own news conference on Wednesday afternoon.

This is a corrected story. An earlier version had the wrong year Scottie Barnes won rookie of the year.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 5, 2026.

John Chidley-Hill, The Canadian Press