Will Raptors’ Jamal Shead remain the best bench player in the NBA?

The following is part of Raptors Republic’s preview series for the 2026-27 series. You can find all the other pieces here.

There is a lot to like about Jamal Shead. There is also one pretty obvious thing he needs to work on.

Shead is entering his third NBA season, and by now, the Raptors know exactly what they are getting from him. He is going to defend, he is going to compete, he is going to find his teammates and he is going to make life miserable for opposing guards. The scoring is the part that still needs to catch up to the rest of his game.

Shead averaged 6.6 points, 1.7 rebounds and 5.4 assists per game last season. The assists are impressive, especially for a young backup guard, but his shooting numbers were rough. He shot just 36.7 percent from the field and 32.1 percent from beyond the arc. That is the biggest thing standing between Shead being a good backup point guard and becoming a really important piece of Toronto’s rotation.

One of the best things about Shead is how comfortable he looks with the ball. He rarely looks rushed. He can come off a screen, take a second to read the defence and then make the pass when it is there. That helped him lead the NBA in assists off the bench last season.

There is another part of his game that makes him so much fun to watch: he is a massive pest. Shead is listed at just 6-foot-1, but you would not know it by watching him defend. He plays with a ridiculous amount of energy and is not afraid to pick up his man early. He fights through screens, gets into passing lanes and is constantly trying to poke the ball loose.

Basically, if you are an opposing point guard, you probably are not going to have a relaxing night when Shead is on you. And of course there is a little bit of a Toronto fan connection to that style of play.

Kyle Lowry announced his retirement this year, and Raptors fans have plenty of reasons to love what he brought to the franchise. One of the biggest was the way he played with absolutely no fear. He took charges, dove for loose balls, fought for every possession and was willing to do the dirty work. Shead has some of that same mentality.

He drew 66 charges last season (second most in the league), showing that his willingness to put his body on the line goes beyond just chasing guards around the perimeter. There is something very Lowry-like about seeing a smaller guard step in front of a much bigger player. It is a small part of the game, but those plays can completely change the energy in a building.

Toronto forced more turnovers with him on the floor, and opposing players shot 5.1 per cent worse on above-the-break threes when Shead was defending them. Darko Rajakovic clearly trusts that side of his game, too. There were plenty of times last season when Toronto needed to change the energy of a game and Shead was the guy getting ready to check in.

For a second-year player, that says a lot. The problem is pretty simple. Teams know they can leave him open. Shead shot 32.1 per cent from three last season, and Cleveland was more than happy to test him during the playoffs. The Cavaliers gave him open looks and dared him to beat them with his shot.

To his credit, Shead did have some really good moments. He went 5-for-6 from three in Game 1 and 4-for-10 in Game 5. The problem was that those nights were not consistent enough. That is what Year 3 should be about.

It is not just his three-point jumper that needs improvement. Shead is one of the quicker players on the Raptors, and he has the ability to get by defenders and get into the paint. But getting there and finishing are two different things. If he can become more comfortable around the basket, it changes his entire offensive game.

A defender who backs off him has to worry about the drive. A defender who steps up gives Shead a chance to blow by. And if another defender comes over to help, Shead has already shown he can find the open man. That is when his playmaking becomes even more dangerous.

Right now, teams can focus more attention on his passing because they know they do not necessarily have to worry about him scoring. That has to change.

The nice thing for Toronto is that Shead is only 23 heading into the season. He still has plenty of time to figure out the offensive side of the game. The defence is already there. The passing is already there. The hustle is definitely there. Now it is about getting the ball in the basket a little more often.

If Shead can do that, Year 3 could be the season he goes from being a fun, high-energy backup to someone Rajakovic has no choice but to keep on the floor.