TORONTO - Brandon Ingram had his "that's why they brought me here" moment in Toronto on Monday, but it wasn't the type of moment you might have expected from one of the league's most prolific scorers.
It wasn't his posterization of rookie 7-footer Ryan Kalkbrenner. In fact, it didn't come on any of his game-high 27 points. It wasn't a shot he took. It was the one he didn't take.
With the score tied and the upstart Charlotte Hornets threatening to steal the game from the red-hot Raptors, Ingram caught the ball on the low block. To little surprise, the Hornets immediately sent a second defender over to trap him in the corner. The 10-year vet waited and surveyed the floor before finding a cutting RJ Barrett for what turned out to be the winning bucket.
A year ago, the Raptors were one of the worst clutch teams in basketball. In games that were within five points or fewer inside of the final five minutes, they went 10-22. Only Utah fared worse in those situations. But they didn't have a player like Ingram to make the big play, even if it meant letting somebody else take the big shot.
"I wasn't able to be that patient earlier in my career, even the year before last," Ingram said after the 110-108 win, Toronto's eighth victory over the last nine games. "But just seeing it over and over again, I took a few deep breaths, I knew I had to be patient because I knew they were going to send two [defenders] and I knew I didn't want to turn it over. If they didn't come, I was going to shoot a turnaround [jumper] on [Collin Sexton], he's too small. Even [when] they sent two, I might have still shot it, but I was looking for the open play."
"It was cool because I was kinda waiting on that all night," said Barrett, who admitted that they probably wouldn't have been able to make that play a month ago; it's taken some time to build chemistry and get on the same page.
"I kept looking every time he would get doubled in the post or [Scottie Barnes] would get doubled in the post. I was looking to cut every time but I didn't get one all game. And then lo and behold, right there at the end, right? So, just continuing to know he's going to command that attention, especially when he's playing like how he played tonight."
It's hard to imagine a better start to Ingram's Raptors tenure. With Monday's win, the team improved to 9-5. They're four games above .500 for the first time since the end of the 2021-22 season, and Ingram's fingerprints are all over their quick improvement - directly and indirectly.
He's ingratiated himself with his teammates and coaches. The team's operational and support staff rave about him. He's mild but well-mannered and relatively low maintenance for a star player - "a hooper's hooper," as general manager Bobby Webster calls him. He's been professional, polite, and thoughtful with the media. But most importantly, he's healthy and performing at a high level.
The 28-year-old is averaging 20.9 points, 6.0 rebounds, and 3.8 assists on an efficient 49 per cent shooting - numbers that are in line with his 2019-20 all-star campaign. He's scored between 20 and 29 points in nine of 14 games to begin his first season with Toronto.
If anything, he's probably not getting enough credit for how impactful he's been. Ingram doesn't draw a lot of attention to himself, unless it's from the opposing defence. He's unassuming by nature. With the exception of Monday's jaw-dropping slam dunk, he generally plays below the rim and his mid-range mastery doesn't always qualify him for the highlight reel. He's surgical in his approach - an expert at getting to his spots on the floor, and once he does, he's as reliable and consistent as anybody in the game. You'll look down at a box score mid-way through the fourth quarter and wonder when and how he wound up with 20 points. He makes it look so easy.
Those are the types of players that are easy to take for granted. Fortunately, Raptors fans know better. They've experienced it before and have seen the impact a guy like that can make. Not since Kawhi Leonard has a player reshaped Toronto's offence in that way.
We're more than a month into the season and the Raptors are one of five teams to rank inside the top-10 in both offence and defence, joining four clubs that are widely considered championship contenders in the Thunder, Nuggets, Rockets, and Spurs.
They're 10 in defence, a bit surprising given their bumpy start to the campaign, but less surprising when you consider they ranked second on that end of the floor after the all-star break last season. That they rank eighth in offensive efficiency, up from 26 last year, is something that very few people saw coming, especially this early.
It's not just that Ingram has buoyed a half-court offence that has struggled since Leonard left for Los Angeles. It's not just that he leads the team in scoring or is shooting 52 per cent from the mid-range - tied for third in the NBA behind Donovan Mitchell and Luka Doncic. Those things help, but the indirect impact is how his presence makes the game easier for the players around him.
While Ingram has hit just 28 per cent of his three-point attempts, the team is shooting 38 per cent from long range with him on the court, compared to 35 per cent when he's on the bench.
Through 14 games, Ingram leads the team in minutes. Remarkably, the next seven guys in minutes played are all shooting career-best percentages from the field - Barnes (50 per cent), Barrett (50 per cent), Immanuel Quickley (47 per cent), Jakob Poeltl (72 per cent), Jamal Shead (43 per cent), Gradey Dick (43 per cent), and Sandro Mamukelashvili (58 per cent). Call it the Ingram effect.
"[Other teams] know how dangerous he is," Barnes said. "He draws so much attention. He's so talented. Once he gets to his spots, it's unstoppable."
"He's with us for a reason," said head coach Darko Rajakovic. "We love the guy. We love his game. I think he's continuously improving with us."
After suffering a severe ankle sprain in what turned out to be his final game with New Orleans last December, an injury that led to a 10-month layoff, Ingram is starting to feel more like himself again. Monday's dunk over Kalkbrenner was a good indication of that, reassurance that he's getting his bounce back.
After a full summer and training camp of accumulating reps together, in addition to these first 14 games, he's starting to feel more comfortable with his new teammates, and vice versa. Making the play to Barrett in crunch time was a good indication of that.
He's only scratching the surface of what the Raptors believe he's capable of now that he's healthy, getting a much-needed fresh start, and entering his prime years. If they're right, if he can stay healthy, continue playing this way and elevate the play of those around him, we'll need to rethink what this team - currently the third seed in a wide-open Eastern Conference - is capable of.