Twenty-six games of the 2025-26 National Basketball Association are now complete. It is fair to say that Raptors small forward RJ Barrett of Toronto, Ontario is emerging as the Raptors’s most valuable player to start the season. The reason is simple. They win with him in the lineup and cannot win without him in the lineup. Barrett is that valuable to a Raptors organization.
In the 17 games the Raptors have Barrett in the lineup, they have a record of 12 wins and five losses. In the nine games without Barrett in the lineup because of a right knee sprain, Toronto has simply played bad basketball. They have a record of three wins and six losses. Toronto needs Barrett back in the lineup rather quickly, or the struggles are expected to continue. According to the Associated Press, Barrett is expected to miss another week.
This season, Barrett is averaging 19.4 points per game, 4.8 rebounds per game, and 3.8 assists per game. He has a career best field goal percentage of .506, three point percentage of .356, and free throw percentage of .725.
The Raptors are currently at 15 wins and 11 losses. That is good enough at the moment as the fifth seed in the East. However, after a great November where they went 12-3, so far in December, the Raptors are 1-4.