Ochai Agbaji stands tall defensively for undersized Toronto Raptors

TORONTO — Ochai Agbaji's relatively small stature won't stop him from defending some of the biggest and best forwards in the NBA.

All-star forwards Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown were Agbaji's main defensive assignments in the Toronto Raptors' 119-118 pre-season victory over the Boston Celtics on Tuesday. Those are tough marks for the six-foot-five Agbaji, who gives up an inch to Brown and three to Tatum, but the Raptors' forward is up for the challenge.

"I embrace that every single night," said Agbaji. "That's the fun in this, showing up and having those matchups, having the defending champs and knowing that you got to turn it up to a different level.

"It's just always fun, whatever matchup it is, whether it's them or Kevin Durant or whoever it is, it's just always fun to match up with them."

Agbaji averaged 6.7 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 1.3 assists in 27 games for the Raptors last season after Toronto acquired him in a trade with the Utah Jazz on Feb. 8. He was listed as a shooting guard for all of those games — his natural position — but on the relatively undersized Raptors, he'll spend most of this coming season playing against bigs.

"It's got to be a helpers' mentality on defence," said Agbaji. "Everyone's obviously in that helping mindset ready to take cover whenever their man is in a post-up situation or gets beat off the ball.

"That's just how it is and it's got to be a collective effort every night."

Brown averaged 23 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 3.6 assists in his third all-star campaign last season. Tatum garnered MVP votes and was named an all-star for the fifth consecutive year as he averaged 26.9 points, 8.1 rebounds, and 4.9 assists last season.

Despite battling against two scoring juggernauts, Agbaji had a game-best plus-29 defensive rating on Tuesday and limited them to below-average points with Brown getting 19 and Tatum 24.

Agbaji scored 16 points, five rebounds, and three assists Tuesday. Those points came on 7 of 11 shooting, including going 1 for 4 on three-point attempts.

"For me, the priority is what he's doing defensively, and he affected the game, and in a big, big way," said Raptors head coach Darko Rajakovic. "Tonight, he was also able to score in transition and create those opportunities.

"He can do so many other things that can affect our game (besides) shooting."

The Raptors face the Nets in Brooklyn on Friday for their final pre-season game.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 16, 2024.

John Chidley-Hill, The Canadian Press