Raptors try to ignore expectations ahead of promising 2026-27 season

TORONTO — Head coach Darko Rajakovic always bristles when asked about the expectations fans and media have for the Toronto Raptors this season.

But even he can’t ignore the buzz around his team ahead of the 2026-27 campaign.

“I have a neighbour, Stewart; he’s a pain in the ass every day asking me about the team and guys and the buzz in the city. He’s a really good thermometer for me on what’s going on in the city,” said Rajakovic on Tuesday after Raptors practice at OVO Athletic Centre. “We absolutely love what’s going on. It’s awesome to see that the city has a buzz about the team, that there’s excitement about the team.

“Everybody’s looking forward to see what this team can do and how this team is going to perform. That’s why we put a lot of work in. That’s why we build this team so we can go out there and have a team that can answer the questions every single night.”

Those raised expectations — not that Rajakovic would use the word — come from the off-season addition of Kawhi Leonard and a solid first-round playoff series against the Cleveland Cavaliers last April in which all-star Scottie Barnes seemed to find a new gear.

Leonard returns to Toronto after a blockbuster trade that sent Brandon Ingram, Gradey Dick and several picks to the Los Angeles Clippers. A two-time NBA champion and two-time Finals MVP, Leonard is a seven-time all-star and seven-time All-NBA selection.

The 35-year-old forward, who led the Raptors to the 2018-19 NBA title before joining the Clippers as a free agent, also cautioned against having high expectations before the Raptors host the Chicago Bulls on Wednesday in their home opener.

“It’s the start of the year. We’re not sure what to expect yet,” Leonard said after practice Monday. “We’ve been working hard during the whole training camp, and we’ll just see it down the road.

“Once 20 games, 25 games are under our belts, and then we’ve got to push from there and see what we can do better.”

Toronto’s first 10 games are against relatively soft opponents, including Chicago, the Washington Wizards, the Milwaukee Bucks and the Clippers. There’s also a back-to-back against the mid-tier Orlando Magic at Scotiabank Arena and a game on home court against the middling Memphis Grizzlies.

Only the Minnesota Timberwolves, Los Angeles Lakers, and Denver Nuggets should give the Raptors trouble in that opening stretch.

“We know what we need to do stepping on the floor this coming week,” said Leonard. “We know what the formula is of winning: playing hard, playing smart, playing fast, playing defence, less turnovers, and making shots.

“I’m excited for the season to start, and let’s see what happens.”

Leonard joins Barnes, RJ Barrett, Immanuel Quickley and Jakob Poeltl in Toronto’s starting lineup with a deep rotation centred around Collin Murray-Boyles, Jamal Shead and Ja’Kobe Walter.

Barnes, a two-time all-star who had been the cornerstone of the Raptors’ offence and defence last season, said that despite being a bit of a homebody, he also can’t ignore the buzz.

“I don’t really go outside that much, but I think being on social media, people are super happy, excited about Kawhi being back,” said Barnes. “If I am out in public, I think that’s more what people ask, talk to me about, like ‘how’s Kawhi?’ and things like that.

“There’s excitement on social media, but I think we’re just trying to focus on what we can focus on, focus on playing hard, trying to do the right thing, move the ball. How can we keep developing our offence? But other than the hype, we’ve just got to be ourselves and go out there and win games, that’s our main goal.”

Toronto had a 46-36 record last season, good for fifth in the Eastern Conference’s regular-season standings. The Raptors pushed the fourth-ranked Cavaliers to seven games in the first round of the playoffs, despite Ingram and Quickley missing significant time due to injury.

Heading into this season, ESPN is projecting that the Raptors have a 74.6 per cent chance of making the playoffs and is predicting 45.5 wins.

Rajakovic said that the Raptors had a team meeting on Tuesday about preparing for the season and that Barnes emphasized to everyone the importance of staying mentally present.

“Let’s take care of today, you know? That’s our mindset, so we’re going to take it one game at a time,” said Rajakovic. “We’re going to prepare one game at a time. We’re going to compete one possession at a time, and the culmination and sum of all of that is going to be what we’re gonna achieve as a team this year.

“We cannot go far ahead and project what’s going to happen. We don’t know what other teams are going to do. We don’t know the state of the injuries on our team or on other teams.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 20, 2026.

John Chidley-Hill, The Canadian Press