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He has the size and the shooting ability to make an impact and nobody needs a player like that more than the Raptors.
Published Dec 29, 2025 • 4 minute read
Basketball centre Mo Bamba
Los Angeles Clippers centre Mo Bamba reacts after a three-point basket during the first half of an NBA game against the Washington Wizards on Jan. 23, 2025, in Inglewood, Calif. Bamba is now a member of the Toronto Raptors. Photo by William Liang /The Associated Press
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The Toronto Raptors have finally addressed the team’s biggest roster issue.
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Time will tell how much the signing of 7-footer Mo Bamba will help but at the least it’s a necessary, and wise, addition.
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Here’s some background on Bamba, 27, how he can contribute, how his contract impacts Toronto’s salary cap situation, and potential follow-ups.
Bamba background
Bamba turned 27 in May and was the sixth pick of the loaded 2018 NBA draft. Born in Harlem to parents who emigrated from the Ivory Coast, Bamba set a record at the time with the longest-recorded wingspan amongst draft prospects at 7-foot-10.
A five star recruit and McDonald’s All-American (he had game highs for points and blocks in the 2017 edition), Bamba chose Texas and had one of the best freshman seasons in Longhorns history and one of the best defensive campaigns by a first-year player the NCAA has seen.
The wingspan and shooting ability, which invited comparisons to the likes of Rudy Gobert and Tyson Chandler — if they could shoot three-pointers — prompted the Orlando Magic, who were in their second year under former Raptors general manager Jeff Weltman, to select him with a high pick.
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That 2018 draft was a weird one. 1st ballot HOF guys (Luka, SGA), MVP candidate Brunson goes second round, Trae Young, JJJ, MPJ, Mikal Bridges all really good, Ayton goes 1, Bagley 2 but still in NBA, GTJ, Bruce Brown, Melton, MitchRob amongst 2nd round hits
— Ryan Wolstat (@WolstatSun) December 29, 2025
Bamba struggled to break through over his first three years in Orlando, never averaging more than 16.3 minutes per game (though he blocked nearly 1.5 shots a night and hauled in north of five rebounds in that limited time).
Still, things seemed to be coming together in Year 4, with Bamba averaging 10.6 points, 8.1 rebounds and 1.7 blocks in 71 games, 69 of them starts, while shooting 38% on three-pointers, before he took a step back the next year.
Feeling set at centre with Wendell Carter Jr., Jonathan Isaac and Moe Wagner, and just before his contract was about to spike, Orlando traded Bamba to the Los Angeles Lakers after 49 games in 2022-23 in what was essentially a cap dump. Not an ideal ending for Bamba’s saga there.
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He played in only nine games for the Lakers, then shot 39% from three in 57 games with Philadelphia before splitting last season with the Clippers and New Orleans.
Most recently, Bamba dominated the G League, including torching Raptors 905 in the winter championship game, earning another NBA look, coincidentally starting Monday against Orlando.
Why sign Bamba?
Starting centre Jakob Poeltl has a nagging back issue (and will not play for the next week, at minimum, the Raptors announced Monday) and his availability this season has been sporadic. Bamba brings some size and defensive chops to the equation. The Raptors desperately need both, since Poeltl was the only player taller than 6-foot-9 on the roster.
Sandro Mamukelashvili, a superb free agent signing, is a natural power forward and now Toronto will have two big men who are good outside shooters, which should be helpful to Scottie Barnes.
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Barnes has spent a career-high 25% of his time this season playing out of position at centre per basketball-reference.com. While he consistently plays well there, including his historic night Sunday against the undersized Golden State Warriors, it’s not a good idea to subject him to the wear and tear of battling with the NBA’s true behemoths every night. Nikola Jokic is in town with Denver on Wednesday. Barnes once missed weeks after being elbowed in the eye by Jokic (he was also hurt in the playoffs by gigantic Joel Embiid and by Karl-Anthony Towns on another occasion).
Why hasn’t Bamba panned out yet?
The two main things that have always held Bamba back is his sputtering motor and a lack of strength. He has all the tools to be a good player, but has been knocked for not always going hard enough in a league where role players must go all out all the time.
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Bamba was also pushed around in his early days in the league.
He has done the pushing in the G League, basically toying with opponents, so it will be interesting to see if he can carry any of that over.
On paper, Toronto seems like an ideal fit for Bamba.
Bamba’s contract status
Bamba’s contract won’t guarantee until Jan. 10 (the date all NBA contracts guarantee), per multiple reports. That’s important because this is basically an early 10-day contract. Teams can start signing 10-day contracts on Jan. 5, but Toronto and Bamba get a jump on that here. Doing it this way potentially would allow them to join forces for nearly an additional two weeks before 10-day rules come into play. Toronto could then ink Bamba to two separate 10-day deals if both sides want that before having to make a call on keeping him for the rest of the season. By then they likely would have a lot more clarity on Poeltl’s status and/or other potential trade options at centre.
Toronto is over the luxury tax by a slim amount. This deal will add a bit to the figure, but doesn’t change the fact that the Raptors are almost guaranteed to swing some sort of a deal that moves them under the tax line by the Feb. 5 trade deadline.
@WolstatSun
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