Toronto Raptors forward Brandon Ingram is off to a great start in his first full season with the team.
After being acquired in a trade back in February and not playing in the 2024-25 campaign for Toronto due to injury, Ingram is averaging 20.9 points and six rebounds per game while making just over 48 per cent of his shots.
However, it’s more than just the numbers. Ingram had a massive dunk against the Charlotte Hornets that showed a sign that he is getting his athleticism and explosiveness back close to where it was before his ankle injury.
“I haven’t been able to jump that high in a while. Being out since December just trying to figure out how I can get my legs under me so that definitely was a confidence builder just being able to get to the rim, finish over the top,” Ingram said via Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun.
“Every day is different. Some days I feel real good, some days I don’t feel that great, but it’s coming along. It’s only been 13, 14 games, so it will soon come.”
Toronto Raptors forward Brandon Ingram tries to shoot the ball past Charlotte Hornets forward Kon Kneuppel. | Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images
Ingram beginning to feel like himself again
Ingram is not the only one realizing his strength once again. Garrett Temple, Ingram’s teammate in Toronto and with the New Orleans Pelicans, is also noticing a difference.
“My second year there with him in New Orleans, he really got to a point where he was really explosive, getting downhill, doing dunks like that regularly,” Temple said via Postmedia.
“So to see that, I know it’s really good for his psyche, just you can understand feeling like his body is getting back to where he wants it to be.”
Perhaps the scariest part about Ingram is the fact that he is still not 100 per cent, which means there could be even more development coming in the next couple of weeks and months.
“It’s getting there, it’s not still there to (100%),” Raptors head coach Darko Rajakovic said via Wolstat. “But it’s coming back. And then when he has that type of pop and he’s playing above the rim, he’s a scary player for all opponents.”
The Raptors traded for Ingram in hopes that it would get the team back in contention in the Eastern Conference. It’s only a small sample size, but that has worked so far.
The Raptors just have to hope it isn’t a flash in the pan.
