Darko Rajakovic continuing to grow as Raptors head coach after two seasons in Toronto

Toronto Raptors head coach Darko Rajakovic watches play during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the San Antonio Spurs, Sunday, April 13, 2025, in San Antonio. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Darren Abate

TORONTO — Darko Rajakovic is all about getting better. Whether that’s developing players on the Toronto Raptors, supporting his staff, or pushing himself to be a better head coach, he wants to improve.

Rajakovic formally ended his second season as Toronto’s head coach with a 30-minute news conference at OVO Athletic Centre on Tuesday. The 46-year-old held exit interviews with all of the team’s players the day before and was ready to take some time to reflect on his own performance before the Raptors get back to work in the early summer.

“I want to take one step back to be able to soak in all the experiences from this year, to analyze what I did well, but also to see what my weak spots are, where I need to continue to grow as a coach. I’m not shying away from that,” said Rajakovic. “I’ve been coaching for 29 years now and I’ve got zero ego.

“I just want to be the best version of myself, to be the best version for my team and my players.”

Rajakovic was hired as Toronto’s head coach in June 2023 and has led the team to two losing seasons, with a slight improvement year over year, going from a 25-57 record in 2023-24 to a 30-52 record this past season.

But Rajakovic, known for his development skills, wasn’t brought in to win. At least not at first, as the Raptors leaned into a rebuild.

“I think it was a good season for us: Year 1 of the rebuild,” said Rajakovic after opening his news conference by thanking the fans and ownership for their support.

“Now it’s time for the next chapter and it’s time for us to take the next step. How do we get there? We get there with doubling down on our habits, doubling down on our hard work, doubling down on believing in our young players and young core, and continuing to develop our team.”

Rajakovic lamented the fact that his starters — Scottie Barnes, RJ Barrett of Mississauga, Ont., Immanuel Quickley and Jakob Poeltl — didn’t even play 10 games together as they all struggled with injuries throughout the season.

But he also pointed to some promising trends for Toronto.

The Raptors set a single-season franchise record with 2,340 total assists in 2024-25, surpassing the previous record which was set last year (2,335). Toronto has recorded 4,675 assists over the past two seasons — the fifth-most in the NBA in that span.

“I think I’ve been around a lot of winning basketball. I played with USA Basketball. In college I probably lost maybe ten games,” said Quickley on Monday. “I understand what coaches need to be successful, and he has all those attributes.

“The will to win, the time you have to spend in trying to be prepared. He’s a step ahead of the game.”

Rajakovic literally put his money where his mouth is as he and his wife, Gaga, will be donating US$70,000 to Toronto’s Hospital for Sick Children, Memphis’s St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, and the University Children’s Hospital in Belgrade, Serbia for a second consecutive year. The sum was based on a commitment made by the Rajakovic family of $30 for every assist recorded over the season in recognition of the Raptors’ 30th anniversary.

Defensively, Rajakovic’s schemes were working too, even with several starters labouring through injuries or taking frequent rest days.

Although Toronto had a 6-9 record in its final 15 regular-season games, the Raptors had the league’s fifth-best defence over that stretch. Their 109.2 defensive rating was behind only the Orlando Magic (108.1), Oklahoma City Thunder (108.1), Los Angeles Clippers (108.2) and Miami Heat (109.2).

All four of those teams are in the NBA’s post-season.

“His ability to come into this season with a with a very firm focus on what his task was, and to develop the team into the best defensive team over the last two months, three months, with maybe one guy that’s an all-defensive guy,” said veteran forward Garrett Temple after Toronto’s final home game of the season. “That speaks volumes to his ability to develop and to build a culture.

“I think he’s shown that he he’s the guy that can bring this team back to where we — y’all — were at in 2019.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 15, 2025.

John Chidley-Hill, The Canadian Press