I have recently broken down who draft analysts are projecting the Toronto Raptors will be selecting with the No. 19 pick during the upcoming 2026 NBA Draft. And meanwhile, Brendan has started his excellent draft coverage here as well, if you want a sense of who Raptors Republic thinks will best fit the team.
And at the same time, to get a sense of what kind of player the Raps could be acquiring it would be a smart idea to take a look back at the last ten No.19 picks in NBA history and see how they fared during their time in the NBA. What are reasonable expectations for Toronto’s first-round pick in 2026?
2015: Jerian Grant (G) – drafted by the Washington Wizards
Games Played Career Points Career Rebounds Career Assists
Career 279 6.1 1.9 2.9
Current Status: Panathinaikos B.C. (Greek Basket League)
Peak Status: Deep bench piece
We start with Jerian Grant, and if you’re a Raptors fan, the way his career unfolded probably won’t sit well with you.
It took Grant just five seasons in the NBA before he made the move overseas, joining both the Greek Basket League and the EuroLeague.
From the moment he was drafted, Grant’s NBA career was a constant journey. After being selected by the Washington Wizards in 2015, he was immediately included in a multi-team trade that sent him first to the Atlanta Hawks and then to the New York Knicks before he had even played a game.
Over the course of his NBA career, Grant also suited up for the Chicago Bulls, Orlando Magic, and eventually returned to Washington before his time in the league came to an end.
For a player selected in the first round, Grant was widely viewed as a disappointment. He never averaged more than 10 points per game in a season and rarely saw more than 20 minutes of action on a consistent basis.
2016: Malik Beasley (SG) – drafted by the Denver Nuggets
Games Played Career Points Career Rebounds Career Assists
Career 578 11.7 2.8 1.4
Current Status: Free agent
Peak Status: NBA Sixth Man of the Year candidate
Malik Beasley has had a pretty interesting career, to say the least.
Coming off the 2024-25 season with the Detroit Pistons, Beasley was playing some of the best basketball of his life. He finished as the runner-up for Sixth Man of the Year and helped Detroit snap its playoff drought by securing a postseason berth.
He also put together one of the greatest three-point shooting seasons we’ve ever seen. Beasley knocked down an incredible 319 threes, becoming just the fifth player in NBA history to make 300 or more in a single season. The only other players to reach that mark are Stephen Curry, James Harden, Klay Thompson, and Anthony Edwards.
At this point, there’s no question that Beasley would still be a valuable piece on just about any contending team. Few players can provide the kind of floor spacing and instant offense that he brings.
The problem is that basketball isn’t the main story surrounding Beasley right now. He’s currently awaiting clearance from an ongoing league investigation involving alleged improper gambling activity and prop betting.
If the Raptors had ended up with a player like Beasley at No. 19, they’d probably be thrilled with the outcome. Well, at least if you take away all the noise surrounding the gambling allegations.
2017: John Collins (F) – drafted by the Atlanta Hawks
Games Played Career Points Career Rebounds Career Assists
Career 541 15.7 7.7 1.4
Current Status: Starting calibre player
Peak Status: 20-10 double-double threat
John Collins has put together a pretty solid NBA career so far.
While durability has occasionally been an issue, he hasn’t played more than 73 games in a season since his rookie year, Collins has consistently proven himself as a reliable starter and productive front court player.
The best season of his career came in 2019-20 with the Atlanta Hawks. That year, Collins was basically a walking double-double, averaging 21.6 points and 10.1 rebounds per game. What’s even more impressive was that the stretch four was knocking down over 40 percent of his shoots from beyond the arc during that span.
2018: Kevin Huerter (SG) – drafted by the Atlanta Hawks
Games Played Career Points Career Rebounds Career Assists
Career 551 11.4 3.4 2.9
Current Status: Bench option
Peak Status: Starter on a playoff team
The Raptors this season are not the only team in history to be picking at No. 19 in back-to-back drafts as the Hawks were in that exact spot not too long ago.
Like I mentioned above, Atlanta hit on John Collins, but Kevin Huerter is a bit more of a mixed case.
Still, with that being said, Huerter has stuck around as a solid rotation player though. He’s been able to carve out a role as a shooting wing who can space the floor and get hot from three.
His best year came in 2022-23 with Sacramento. He played 75 games, started all of them, and put up 15.2 points per game while shooting 48.5 percent from the field and just over 40 percent from three.
2019: Luka Samanic (F) – drafted by San Antonio Spurs
Games Played Career Points Career Rebounds Career Assists
Career 86 4.5 2.4 0.6
Current Status: Zenit Saint Petersburg (Russian VTB United League)
Peak Status: Back of the bench NBA guy
Luka Samanic was a swing-and-miss pick for the Spurs.
At the time, he was viewed as a risky overseas prospect, a modern big who could stretch the floor, but it just never really came together at the NBA level.
He struggled to find minutes in his first couple of seasons, and even after San Antonio moved on from him during his rookie deal, he got another opportunity with the Utah Jazz. However, it was more of the same there, and he couldn’t really carve out a consistent role.
This is considered one of the worst number 19 selections over the past ten seasons.
2020: Saddiq Bey (G) – drafted by Brooklyn Nets
Games Played Career Points Career Rebounds Career Assists
Career 364 14.8 5.3 2.0
Current Status: Productive starter
Peak Status: Productive Starter
Saddiq Bey has quietly built a really solid NBA career as a dependable role player, with the upside to slide into a starting spot when needed.
Bey was another rookie traded on draft night before ever having the chance to suit up for the team that selected him. He was selected by the Brooklyn Nets and traded as part of a three-team deal to the Detroit Pistons.
He did unfortunately hit a major setback in 2024-25 when he tore his ACL and missed the entire season. But he bounced back nicely the following year with the New Orleans Pelicans in 2025-26, putting up a career-high 17.7 points per game.
2021: Kai Jones (F) – drafted by Charlotte Hornets
Games Played Career Points Career Rebounds Career Assists
Career 107 3.5 2.4 0.4
Current Status: Anadolu Efes (EuroLeague)
Peak Status: Back of the bench depth piece
Kai Jones is another player who gets labeled a draft bust. He was picked by the Hornets in 2021 and had real upside because of his athleticism, but things never came together.
He struggled to find a consistent role on the court, and off the court things got messy. During his time in Charlotte he posted strange videos, criticized teammates, and even publicly asked for a trade on X (formerly known as Twitter). Eventually, the relationship with the team broke down and he was waived.
Jones got another shot with the Dallas Mavericks but even with a new organisation he struggled to make any meaningful impact.
2022: Jake LaRavia (F) – drafted by Memphis Grizzlies
Games Played Career Points Career Rebounds Career Assists
Career 218 7.4 3.6 1.8
Current Status: 3-and-D bench piece
Peak Status: 7th man bench player
Jake LaRavia is already on his third NBA team after being drafted by Memphis, traded to Sacramento, and then landing with the Lakers in free agency.
He’s a depth wing who brings energy and effort, especially on the defensive end. Offensively, the consistency isn’t quite there yet, but he stays useful because he plays his role and doesn’t need the ball to impact the game.
One underrated thing about him is durability, he was one of only 18 players to appear in all 82 games last season. In the right system, that kind of availability and effort still holds real value.
2023: Brandin Podziemski (G) – drafted by Golden State Warriors
Games Played Career Points Career Rebounds Career Assists
Career 220 11.6 5.3 3.7
Current Status: Sixth man option
Peak Status: Starting guard on a playoff team
The Golden State Warriors may have found their starting shooting guard of the future with the 19th pick in the 2023 draft.
Podziemski has already carved out a role as a high-IQ combo guard in the NBA, showing steady production across the board. He’s averaged 11.6 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 3.6 assists per game so far in his career.
Like LaRavia, he was also one of just 18 players in the league to play all 82 games last season, showing both durability and trust from his coaching staff. He is someone who has consistently improved each year and the Raptors would be ecstatic to have a guy like him on the squad.
2024: Ja’Kobe Walter (G) – drafted by Toronto Raptors
Games Played Career Points Career Rebounds Career Assists
Career 124 8.0 2.8 1.3
Current Status: Reliable bench option
Peak Status: Starting guard on a playoff team
The Raptors might’ve landed a real win with the 19th pick a couple years ago.
Walter made a clear jump in his second season, especially down the stretch and into the playoffs. He has proven that he can be a starting guard in the future of this league.
He finished the year averaging 7.5 points, 2.6 rebounds, 1.2 assists, and 1 steal per game. He also stood out as the only Raptors player taking at least three threes per game and hitting them at a 40 percent clip.
2025: Nolan Traore (G) – drafted by Brooklyn Nets
Games Played Career Points Career Rebounds Career Assists
Career 56 8.9 1.8 3.8
Current Status: Bench piece with upside
Peak Status: Starting guard on a non-playoff team
The Brooklyn Nets had a busy draft last season, coming in with five first-round picks and using four of them on ball handlers and playmakers. One of those selections was French guard Nolan Traore.
He appeared in 56 games, starting 31. Traore averaged 8.9 points and 3.8 assists per game. His season started slowly, but he settled in after the All-Star break and looked much more comfortable running the offense.
Traoré brings real value as a defender and playmaker, but his scoring efficiency is still a work in progress. He shot just 38 percent from the field and 31.8 percent from three, which remains the biggest area for growth.
The value of the 19th pick
Looking at the history of the 19th pick over the last decade, it hasn’t exactly been a spot that consistently produces stars, but it has still delivered a mix of solid contributors and a few players with real upside. The Raptors already seem to have done well once with Walter at 19 in 2024, and now they’ll be hoping to strike again in 2026 with a group of prospects that once again carries plenty of intriguing potential.