TORONTO – Allen Graves’ most transferable NBA skill is his nose for the ball, so it’s fitting that the Toronto Raptors rookie was still cradling the rock an hour after making his professional debut.
It was assistant coach Jama Mahlalela – learning from the very best in Kyle Lowry – who made sure to grab the game ball for Graves, who is planning to write the date on it, put it in a case, and then never touch it again. It’s a keepsake now, a souvenir from a night the 20-year-old forward will never forget.
“It was definitely amazing, [an] amazing feeling just being able to hear my name called and play my first official NBA game,” Graves said shortly after Toronto put the finishing touches on a dominant 43-point opening night win over the Chicago Bulls. “It was just a dream come true.”
Graves entered the game early in the second quarter. He had to walk past Drake on his way to the scorer’s table and thought about dabbing up the global superstar but decided to play it cool instead. What you’ll learn about the conscientious young man is that every decision, large and small, is well thought out.
He found out that he made the opening night rotation at shootaround on Wednesday morning. Graves had been competing with sharpshooter Jamison Battle and veteran Kyle Anderson for the ninth and 10thman roles. Outside of Toronto’s established top eight, it could be fluid night to night, depending on what each game calls for, but head coach Darko Rajakovic has shown that he’s not afraid to throw rookies into the fire.
It’s not hard to see why the Raptors made him the 19th-overall pick in the draft this past summer, or why he’s already been able to crack Rajakovic’s rotation. Graves is a sponge, the type of player and person who is eager to learn and willing to put in the work. He’s personable and polite. He’s chatty and asks lots of questions.
Some of his skills need refining – his jumper is still a work in progress, for instance – but his motor and knack for making hustle plays and generating extra possessions give him a solid foundation, even as a young and developing player. He’s a ballhawk, like so many other players on this Raptors team. And, yes, he’s also 6-foot-9, though his curly locks add a few extra inches.
It didn’t take long for Graves to make his presence felt. Naturally, his first bucket as a pro came on the offensive glass, a putback layup flying in from the weak side. In fact, four of his five rebounds on the night came via the offensive glass. He also blocked three shots in 19 very active minutes.
Graves has spent the past month or so playing catchup after a groin injury limited him in training camp and sidelined him for the first couple of preseason games. The two exhibition contests that he appeared in were a mixed bag; he shot 5-for-20 from the field and missed 10 of his 11 three-point attempts.
But as Graves shared Wednesday night, he actually felt more comfortable and more relaxed in his regular season debut than at any point in the preseason, and it showed. At one point early in the Bulls game, Graves was talking Jamal Shead’s ear off during a timeout, trying to figure out what he should do when the point guard is in drop coverage. Shead, a beloved and respected voice on the club despite his young age (24), told him to stop asking questions.
It wasn’t meant as harshly as it sounds. The message was: stop overthinking, get out of your own head, and just play. It’s something that his teammates and coaches have been emphasizing since he joined them over the summer. It’s easier said than done, especially for a young player and particularly for a young player as thoughtful as Graves, but with his instincts and natural feel for the game, it should come with time and reps.
“I always say when you study the film, when you’re with coaches, when you’re in a team setup, that’s where you need to think and analyze,” Rajakovic said. “The game happens at such speed that you don’t have time to think. You’re not supposed to think in the game. You want to react in the game, and you want your instincts and muscle memory to take over. So, I always tell players, we show film and all of that, but the moment the referee throws that ball, forget about everything I told you, muscle memory is going to take over and your instincts are going to take over.
“He’s learning that. He’s one of those kids that wants to do so well for his teammates and for himself and he doesn’t want to disappoint anybody. It’s a natural thing that he’s thinking about everything, but the more he’s out there and every minute that he gets an opportunity to play, the game is going to slow down for him.”
For that and a variety of other reasons, Toronto was the perfect landing spot for Graves. Most rookies either get the chance to play through mistakes for a losing club, where bad habits can be picked up, or learn from the sidelines while watching a winning one.
Here, Graves should have the opportunity to both play and learn with a contending team that knows how to get the most out of his player archetype. He’s already been picking the brain of Collin Murray-Boyles, a player with similar strengths and weaknesses who is a year ahead of him, and taking everything he can from the veteran two-way stars, Kawhi Leonard and Scottie Barnes. CMB’s advice to Graves ahead of opening night was don’t be afraid to make mistakes.
“I feel like that’s what kinda takes away from aggressiveness, that’s what takes away from learning,” the sophomore forward said earlier this week. “These first few games are not supposed to be [perfect]. This is all about learning the game, learning the pace, and getting those mess-ups out early.”
Graves prides himself on being a quick study. He’s earning rave reviews for his willingness and ability to take feedback and implement it, but there’s also a level of self-awareness that’s allowed for his early success as an NBA pro. He knows he’s not coming in to be a star. That’s not to say he’ll never be one, but it isn’t his role out of the gate – it’s amazing how many first-year players, fresh out of college, fail to recognize or accept that.
So, taking a page out of Murray-Boyles’s book, he’s identified the ways that he can step in and make an immediate impact.
“That’s something that I know I can impact right away, on the offensive glass and just being that [active] presence,” Graves said. “If Kawhi, if Scottie misses, or any of those guys miss, get the ball and get it right back to them. I feel like I can make a role out of that and attack it each and every day.”
If he can do that and carve out a niche for himself in this league, Wednesday’s game ball won’t be his last. He may need a bigger case.