It's been almost 10 years since the Los Angeles Lakers selected Brandon Ingram with the No. 2 pick in the 2016 NBA Draft. After three seasons with the Lakers, the front office sent him to the Pelicans in the 2019 offseason for Anthony Davis. It's been six years since that happened, and Ingram is starting the season with a new team.
New Orleans traded him to Toronto before the 2025 deadline, but he didn't play during the final stretch of the season. Ingram's unofficial Raptors debut didn't happen until Monday, when Toronto played Denver in Vancouver. It was just one preseason game, but Ingram looked good.
Brandon Ingram showed off his full offensive repertoire in his Raptors debut
Recap on that + much, much more 👇🏼 pic.twitter.com/491Zm23SJD
— Esfandiar Baraheni (@JustEsBaraheni) October 7, 2025
He dropped 19 points on 12 shots in 22 minutes after not playing in a game since last December. He looked a lot better than expected, knocking down midrange shots, facilitating, and moving off-ball.
It's true that you can't put too much stock into how a player (or a team) looks during the preseason. Still, if the Raptors' first preseason game was a glimpse into the version of Ingram they're getting, Toronto will be a team to watch in the East (oh, and a lot is riding on Scottie Barnes).
Former Lakers lottery pick Brandon Ingram looked good in Raptors debut
After the February trade, Ingram agreed to a three-year, $120 million contract with the Raptors, which drew immediate criticism, in large part because of the injuries he's dealt with in recent seasons. He played only 18 games last season, after all. Still, Toronto believed in him.
Perhaps Ingram is entering this season more motivated than ever, not just because he barely played last season, but because he has a prime opportunity to remind the NBA world who he is. The conversation about Ingram over the past couple of years had more to do with trade rumors and injuries than what he did on the court.
Everyone knows who Ingram is as a scorer, and if they forgot, he reminded them on Monday. Toronto knows that Ingram can be more than that, though, from his playmaking to his defense. Jakob Poeltl said that Ingram's defensive intensity has impressed him thus far, highlighting how Ingram uses his length to disrupt opposing offenses.
There are still questions about how Ingram will fit in Toronto and how things will look a few weeks into the regular season. It's too early to say that the trade was a win for the Raptors and that his contract will age well. So far, so good. Will it stay that way?