Jonathan Mogbo’s time in Toronto is over.
It was announced Monday afternoon that the Toronto Raptors are declining his team option for the 2026-27 NBA season, making him an unrestricted free agent.
Mogbo was drafted with the 31st overall pick in the 2024 NBA draft and through two seasons with the Raptors averaged 4.4 points, 3.7 rebounds, 1.7 assists, 0.6 steals and 0.4 blocks while shooting 45.5% from the field, 23.9% from three, and 71.9% from the free throw line.
Since he was drafted, the Raptors have tried to use the G-League (and the NBA to some extent) to try and mold him into the type of player they need, a switchable wing, playmaking wing who can hit shots, but as Zulfi Sheikh noted in his end-of-season recap for Mogbo, they went away from that this season.
Mogbo attempted more threes through 13 contests in just the G League last season (21) than he has at both levels combined in 2025-26. Now, maybe part of the reason for that dip is that he converted just 27.5 per cent of those near 100 shots from distance as a rookie. But it also appears as though the organization has shifted away from that being a focus. Like with Dr. Frankenstein, the Raptors seemingly saw what they had created, were unsatisfied with the results and chose to distance themselves from it.
In some ways, Mogbo got the short end of the stick. The addition of Collin Murray-Boyles last year and Allen Graves this year significantly limits the minutes available to Mogbo, though he deserves a share of the blame as he never put it all together to force the coaching staff to give him minutes. Outside of a few flashes in his rookie season (like a 17 point, 11 assist, 10 rebound triple-double in a late season blowout of the Charlotte Hornets), Mogbo hasn’t found his place in the NBA.
He’s too small to be a traditional small-ball big, and isn’t quite skilled enough as a ball-handler, shooter, or finisher to play as a wing. Regardless, if he can improve on any of those aspects he’s shown enough defensive upside to warrant a team to take a flyer on him, even if it is just on a two-way contract. Towards the end of the last G-League season I got the chance to go to some Raptors 905 games as media and Mogbo was always very kind in post game interviews. Wishing him the best of luck and rooting for him wherever his career takes him.
