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The Raptors have plenty of young players who could take a step forward this season. However, if we’re talking about three guys who could really surprise people in 2026-27, these are the names I’m most interested in watching: 3. Collin Murray-Boyles Maybe calling Collin Murray-Boyles a breakout candidate is cheating a little bit. He already had his coming-out party. After Toronto selected him ninth overall in the 2025 NBA Draft, there were plenty of questions about whether his size would hold him back. He’s listed at 6-foot-7 and 245 pounds, putting him in that awkward space between a forward and a centre. Then he actually got on the court, and it did not take him very long at all to make people eat their words. Murray-Boyles quickly showed that his physicality, instincts and defensive ability were very real. By the time the playoffs rolled around, he looked like someone Toronto could trust in just about any matchup. He averaged 14.4 points, 6.4 rebounds and 2.4 stocks against the Cleveland Cavaliers in the first round. That is probably asking a lot for him to maintain over an entire sophomore season. However, there is still plenty of room for CMB to get better. The biggest question is what happens on offence. Right now, Murray-Boyles does most of his damage around the basket. He can finish as a roller, crash the offensive glass and make himself a problem around the rim. But defenders don’t have to worry much about him outside of that area. The encouraging part? His floater started to become a real weapon during the playoffs. If that shot becomes something he can consistently rely on, it gives him another way to score without having to beat his man all the way to the rim. That could make a pretty big difference in his sophomore season. This is not even mentioning Kawhi Leonard. If the Klaw trade goes through, CMB could have one of the best possible mentors for his development. Leonard is still one of the league’s best two-way players, and Murray-Boyles already has the defensive mindset. Getting to learn from someone like Leonard could help him take that part of his game to another level. 2. Ja’Kobe Walter Ja’Kobe Walter spent a lot of last season looking over his shoulder. There was always someone else competing for his minutes. Gradey Dick was there. Ochai Agbaji was there. Jamison Battle was there. Walter had to earn basically every opportunity he got. That should be different this season. Agbaji is gone, and Dick is expected to be part of the trade package for Leonard. Walter has also shown enough to separate himself from Battle. For the first time in his NBA career, Walter should have a much clearer path to regular minutes. Now he has to make the most of them. The easiest way for him to do that is by doing something Toronto desperately needed last season: make shots from beyond the arc. The Raptors were one of the league’s worst three-point shooting teams, finishing 26th in threes made and 21st in three-point percentage at 35.4 percent. Walter was the exception. He was the only Raptor averaging at least three three-point attempts per game while shooting 40 percent or better from deep. He also became just the 15th player in franchise history to hit that mark on that kind of volume. He did it at 21 years old. If you’re asking me, well, I would say that is a pretty good foundation to build on. Walter finished the season playing some of his best basketball, which makes this season even more interesting. If he can carry that confidence into training camp, there is a real opportunity for him to go from a guy fighting for minutes to someone Toronto actually needs in its rotation. 1. RJ Barrett Calling Barrett a breakout candidate might be stretching the definition a little. He has already established himself as one of Toronto’s better players. However, there is a version of Barrett that could be significantly more effective this season. A lot of that comes down to who’s playing beside him. If (likely, when) Leonard joins the Raptors, Barrett won’t have to carry nearly as much of the offensive burden. That should mean fewer possessions where he has to bail Toronto out and more situations where he can attack a defence that hasn’t had time to load up against him. Once Barrett gets downhill, he’s difficult to deal with. He’s strong enough to absorb contact, quick enough to get past defenders and comfortable enough with his floater and push shot to score without always needing to finish directly at the rim. Pair that with Kawhi’s ability to to draw multiple doubles, that could make rrom for Barrett to pop off. There should also be more room for him to concentrate on the other end of the floor. Barrett has shown flashes defensively, but consistency has been the issue. If he isn’t being asked to create everything offensively, there’s less reason for him to be running on empty defensively. Barrett is heading into an important point in his career with his next contract situation approaching. He has already shown Toronto what he can look like when everything is clicking, particularly in the playoffs. The challenge now is doing it for an entire season. This is one of those rare occasions where a player doesn’t need more responsibility to show what he is made of. He might actually benefit from having less.