Raptors make surprise pick of Allen Graves at NBA draft

Allen Graves out of Santa Clara seen as ultimate role player.

Published Jun 23, 2026  •  Last updated 6 minutes ago  •  4 minute read

Allen Graves reacts after he is drafted 19th overall by the Toronto Raptors during Round One of the 2026 NBA Draft at Barclays Center on June 23, 2026 in New York. Photo by Arturo Holmes /Getty Images

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The newest member of the Toronto Raptors is Allen Graves.

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With a chance to take more heralded prospects such as Labaron Philon or Cameron Carr, Toronto opted for Graves out of Santa Clara. Regarded as an analytics darling (something ownership is said to be sky-high on these days) Graves is an interesting story and seen as a ready-made role player, though he might lack the upside of some of the top prospects.

Graves stands nearly 6-foot-8 with a 7-foot wingspan, he’s an extremely fast processor of the game, a strong defender and rebounder, but not a big offensive threat at this point. Graves won two state titles in Louisiana and is seen as a solid jack of all trades, master of none type. The Raptors seemed to prioritize getting a likely contributor with a lower ceiling vs. a riskier prospect.

Bobby Webster and the front office had better be right on Graves, as they considered him the best available player, ignoring massive needs at guard and centre to do so.

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Perhaps they deserve not to be doubted though. After a down stretch, Toronto has been doing well at the draft. Collin Murray-Boyles was a steal at nine last year, and Ja’Kobe Walter (19) and Jamal Shead (45th) in 2024 were also both shrewd decisions.

The Raptors are building around Scottie Barnes, but now must factor Murray-Boyles into the equation too. How Graves, who played plenty of power forward in college, fits in is to be determined. There’s a logjam, while Brandon Ingram eats up a lot of minutes at small forward (with RJ Barrett and Ja’Kobe Walter in the mix there and at shooting guard too). Graves can play and guard small forward and if his three-point growth holds up, can stretch the floor, but Toronto’s major deficiencies aren’t covered by the pick.

It didn’t help that several players the Raptors reportedly coveted were taken just before they went on the clock. That included Stanford’s Ebuka Okorie going 17 and Christian Anderson Jr. 18, plus centre Hannes Steinbach 14 and point guard Bennett Stirtz at 16. Memphis actually traded Stirtz to Oklahoma City for 17 and two second-round picks, then traded 17 for 21 and three more second-rounders. A lot of assets, but passed up a lot of talent to move down five spots.

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As for Graves, many believe he has a chance to really turn heads defensively. Last year, ESPN’s Jay Bilas sagely said Murray-Boyles was the best defender in the draft. This year he had Graves either third or fourth and tops amongst non-centres.

Graves mostly came off the bench for Santa Clara, famous in these parts as the alma mater of Steve Nash, but then again, Barnes did the same for Florida State.

How did draft play out?

The top of the draft went as predicted. Washington, with its first No. 1 since John Wall in 2011 after winning May’s lottery, led off with BYU’s AJ Dybantsa, a scorer who has been compared to big wings such as Tracy McGrady and Paul George. Utah (who went from fourth to second in the lottery) went with Kansas guard Darryn Peterson instead of Duke’s Cameron Boozer. Boozer’s father, fellow big man Carlos Boozer, was an all-star and works for the Jazz, but with Jaren Jackson Jr. and Lauri Markkanen already on board, the need for a dynamic guard such as Peterson won out.

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Memphis, having just dealt Jackson to Utah in February, basically replaced him Tuesday with Boozer, a nice fit beside Toronto-born centre Zach Edey. The Grizzlies had jumped from six to three at the lottery.

Chicago, way up from nine to four post-lottery, took power forward Caleb Wilson, a top-tier athlete from North Carolina who has some shades of Shawn Kemp, Amar’e Stoudemire and Pascal Siakam in his game.

The Los Angeles Clippers took tall point guard Keaton Wagler fifth out of Illinois (the Clippers had been gifted the pick by ripping off Indiana in the Ivica Zubac trade).

Brooklyn took three guards last draft but added another Tuesday in Louisville’s Mikel Brown Jr. Houston’s Kingston Flemings went next to Atlanta, followed by the first minor surprise, Michigan big man Morez Johnson Jr. to Dallas. New Mavericks boss Masai Ujiri (remember him?) just hired Johnson’s coach who he helped win the national championship. Morez had been flying up draft boards.

Milwaukee, a day after trading franchise player Giannis Antetokounmpo, rounded out the Top 10 with Arizona’s Brayden Burries. Six lead guards went in the early going, something prognosticators had expected in a crop loaded with elite point guard talent.

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