Raptors’ Rajakovic on Murray-Boyles: ‘There’s a lot of talent there’
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Darko Rajakovic is no stranger to the Summer League. Over his time on various NBA coaching staffs, the Toronto Raptors head coach estimates he’s been to Vegas 20 times to take in the NBA’s yearly showcase.
Heading into his third season with the Raptors, Rajakovic says he still can’t get enough of the Summer League and sees it as a great opportunity to check in with the young players in the organization.
“Summer League is an amazing opportunity to see rookies, young players and newcomers to the league. You get to know your team even better and you get to see other talents. I can never get enough,” said Rajakovic on TSN Overdrive.
“I'm around the team all the time. Every practice and game. It's a great checkpoint in the middle of summer for us to have those side conversations. I had a breakfast meeting with Collin Murray-Boyles this morning just to catch up and see how everything was going. Obviously it's a big transition coming from college to the professional level. Just giving him tips and what the rest of the summer needs to look like for him and how he needs to continue growing.”
The Raptors selected Murray-Boyles ninth overall out of South Carolina in the 2025 NBA Draft. The 6-foot-7 forward missed the first game on the Summer League schedule due to an adductor strain but has appeared in the Raptors' past two games and made an immediate impact on the defensive end, averaging 1.5 steals and 1.0 blocks in just over 23 minutes per game.
While the 20-year-old shakes off the rust from a lengthy summer layoff, Rajakovic says Murray-Boyles is flashing plenty of talent early in his NBA career.
“I think Collin is finding some rhythm in these games after not having played since the college season ended,” said Rajakovic. “He's finding ways to affect the game with his rebounding, playmaking ability, and finishing. There's a lot of talent there but at the same time, there's a lot of work to be done to help him continue to grow.”
The addition of veteran scorer Brandon Ingram, Murray-Boyles, and the internal development of young players like Gradey Dick, Ja’Kobe Walter, Jamal Shead, and Jonathan Mogbo should complement the Raptors’ established core of Scottie Barnes, Jakob Poeltl, Immanuel Quickley, and R.J. Barrett.
The internal competition, especially on the wing between Dick, Walter, and Ochai Agbaji, is something Rajakovic believes will be healthy for the team and will help the roster reach new heights next season.
"I think competition is healthy. Sometimes you don't know what you're capable of doing unless you have someone forcing you to stretch your limits,” Rajakovic said. “I think we have a way deeper roster this year and that competition at multiple positions is going to be very healthy for us. I think it's going to help us individually and the whole team.”
After finishing last season 30-52 and missing the playoffs for the third-consecutive year, the Raptors find themselves in a position to jump back into the playoffs in 2025-26 thanks to a deeper roster and several Eastern Conference contenders losing key players to injury.
While the opportunity to make a leap in a suddenly wide open East has presented itself, Rajakovic said he is solely focused on what he can do to ensure the team puts in the necessary work to improve and put things together on the court every night.
"I think a lot about how we can maximize our roster with the talent we have. I don't spend a single second thinking about the standings,” said Rajakovic. “For me, everything is focused on things we can control and daily outputs and the work we put in. We'll take it one game at a time and put our team in a position to win every single night. We need to step onto the floor every night with ambition and desire."