Sandro Mamukelashvili did more than prove that he belongs this season

The following is part of Raptors Republic’s series of pieces reviewing the season for the Toronto Raptors. You can find all the pieces in the series here.

In my debut piece on Raptors Republic, I wrote about how yet again, the NBA media was underrating the Toronto Raptors heading into the season. I listed the reasons I believed they were wrong: The Raptors would be healthier, they would be deeper, the players would have more refined roles while playing with expectations, and they had added impact players such as Brandon Ingram, Collin Murray-Boyles, and Sandro Mamukelashvili.  

On Mamukelashvili specifically, I said this: “I’m really excited about Mamukelashvili, probably to the point of irrationality. I’m not even certain how many minutes he will get, but from the film I’ve watched on him he just seems so damn fun.” 

Two things: My excitement was not irrational, and he is so damn fun.

His three-point shooting, transition game, and sporadic energy seemed like a perfect fit in Toronto, and it gave the team optionality in constructing their lineups. What I didn’t see coming was just how quickly, and how profoundly he would make his impact felt. 

Over the season, the 26-year-old big man averaged 11.2 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 1.9 assists, he boasted above average efficiency, particularly from deep where he hit 38.9% of his threes, a number buoyed by his 40% hit rate from above-the-break.

Beyond his three-point shooting, his ability to finish possessions on cuts and attacking closeouts was needed for a team that at times struggled to score in the halfcourt. In transition he helped lead the Raptors to a top-3 frequency by creating tons of extra fastbreak opportunities off-steals, he was also one of the few players on the team that could score on the break efficiently.

What he became for the Raptors this season was an incredible revelation for a guy who was the 54th pick in 2021 and spent his rookie season lighting up the G-League alongside Nova Scotia legend Lindell Wigginton.

“My main focus was [always] like, ‘just come in there and beat the odds and prove everybody that I can actually stay in this league,’”

• Sandro Mamukelashvili

Fun fact: The reason the Milwaukee Bucks ended up waiving Mamukelashvili was to make space to sign Wigginton to a two-way contract. 

To go from a late second-rounder who was cut from his first team to playing a crucial role on a playoff team, is nothing short of astounding. Though for Mamukelashvili it was no accident, in fact, knowing he would have a role in Toronto was the primary reason he signed with the Raptors.

“I think a lot of people don’t know this, but last year, I got offered a lot more money to play for other teams. To me, the main priority is: I’m a basketball player, I’m a competitor, I want to win, and I want to be part of something.”

• Sandro Mamukelashvili

Mission accomplished. There’s no doubt he’s part of something in Toronto. Mamukelashvili was integral to the Raptors success all season long. Early in the season, nearly every game started the same way. The starting lineup would start sluggish, and they would give up an early lead. Then Mamukelashvili, alongside Jamal Shead, would enter the game and create immediate chaos. The pace would quicken, the defense became frantic, Mamukelashvili would hit a three, he would get out on the run in transition. He helped pull things back together. The duo had the highest 2-man net rating on the team at +10.7.

Then when the Raptors pulled things together, and rattled off 13 wins in 14 games, Mamukelashvili was a huge part of that too, scoring in double digits in 9 of those games and in a 30 point victory over the Washington Wizards he had his first of seven 20-point performances on the season. Nearly one month later to the day, he had his second when he started against the Boston Celtics and drilled six of his nine three point attempts.

When things were on, they were really on for Mamukelashvili. It seemed like every time he’d have a double-digit scoring output, he would follow it with another. Take a look at some of these scoring stretches:

January 16 -January 23

February 1 – February 8

March 23 – April 1st

Unfortunately, his hot stretch near the end of the season didn’t carry any momentum into the playoffs. The series against the Cleveland Cavaliers was probably Mamukelashvili’s worst seven game stretch of the entire season. In four of the seven games he scored 3 or less points, and by game seven his minutes were slashed to just nine. 

Since I took the time earlier to boast about my pre-season writing on Mamukelashvili, I will also point out that before the series with the Cavaliers began, I wrote about how Mamukelashvili could be the Raptors’ X-factor.

Hey, at least I said could be, and not would be. 

In my mind I thought Mamukelashvili provided matchup issues for the Cavaliers, I figured he could help draw Allen and Mobley out from the rim, and if they instead went small on him he could score over top of his defender.

What actually happened was they did go small on him and he really didn’t do anything to make them pay for that decision, and on defense he was completely outmatched. He wasn’t quick enough to keep up with the guards and wings and wasn’t big enough to defend down low. That was something the Raptors were able to overcome in the regular season, primarily because he was able to make it up on the other end by hitting his shots, shots he wouldn’t even look at in the playoffs. On top of that, Murray-Boyles was playing incredible against the likes of Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley, and Jakob Poeltl as the only seven-footer was much needed. Given his lackluster performance, slashing Mamukelashvili’s minutes was a no-brainer. 

Even so, I firmly believe that the Raptors need to do whatever it takes to keep him next season. We can all agree, especially after this playoff run, that Scottie Barnes is capable of leading a team as the number one guy. Well as it turns out, Barnes’ best running mate this season (statistically) was Mamukelashvili.

It makes sense, Barnes excels as an inside the arc scorer and playmaker, and having a five that can pick and pop, cut, and finish like Mamukelashvili amplifies Barnes’ strengths. While he may not be a ‘true’ center, he is the only person on the team with enough size and elite shooting to play that role for stretches at a time. Honestly, he’s one of the few bigs in the entire league that can shoot so many threes at such an efficient clip. According to nba.com, his 115 made threes was tied for 8th most amongst centers, and of centers with at least 100 attempts, his three point percentage ranked 5th. 

Mamukelashvili represents the Raptors finally starting to build a team that complements Barnes’ needs. It’s rare to find players of his caliber, Bobby Webster even said as much in his end of season presser: “We’ve been looking for that sort of stretch big for a number of years.”

Whether re-signing him is actually possible remains to be seen, it’ll likely require some manoeuvring of assets and cap space but in my mind it’s something you HAVE to make work. It’s no coincidence that the best season of his career was during the Raptors’ best season since 2022, one couldn’t happen without the other. Despite a rough playoff series, this was an astounding year for Mamukelashvili and he undoubtedly will see a raise on his league minimum salary wherever that may end up being. He proved that he doesn’t only belong in the NBA, but can impact winning at the highest level over the past season. If it does end up being just a one and done season for the big man here in Toronto, as it was for Bismack Biyombo in 2015-16, then at least it was one heck of a ride.

“This summer will be the same thing, kind of understanding where I fit the best, and what role I can play. Hopefully, it’s going to be here. I really want to be back. I love Toronto, I love the people, I love the organization, and coach Darko. I think he was a guy who gave me a chance to go out there and be myself.”

• Sandro Mamukelashvili