Toronto Raptors: Ranking all 5 starters for the 2021-22 season

It’s officially the dawn of a new era for the Toronto Raptors. The team is barely two years removed from its first championship, but things shift quickly in the NBA and this Raptors team is hardly recognizable from the title-winning squad.

The biggest loss of the offseason was star point guard Kyle Lowry. While he’s clearly about to enter the twilight of his career, he was still playing well and truly embodied the spirit of the Raptors to the fans. For his presence alone, he’ll be missed greatly.

Kyle Lowry is gone, but the Toronto Raptors should still have a postseason-caliber starting lineup for the 2021-22 season.

While Lowry is gone and other stalwarts like Kawhi Leonard and DeMar DeRozan are long gone, there’s still plenty of talent on this team. The Raptors are better than last year’s 27-45 record shows and the team’s return to Toronto this season should help ease an entire organization’s burden of playing so far from home.

Some of the notable new players include Goran Dragic, Precious Achiuwa, and Scottie Barnes. The latter has particularly endeared himself to the fans since being drafted fourth overall this summer, ready to pick up the pieces for a franchise mourning the loss of Lowry.

Barnes doesn’t seem likely to start for the Raptors – at least not right away. He’ll push for big minutes early, though. Who else will be competing for starting spots on the team?

Fred VanVleet and Pascal Siakam are guaranteed spots in the starting lineup. OG Anunoby and Gary Trent Jr. seem like obvious picks as well. The last spot is up for grabs, with any number of candidates: Dragic, Achiuwa, Barnes, and Khem Birch may all be candidates on any given night.

Assuming Birch (as the most natural center) gets the nod, here’s a ranking of the Raptors starters for the 2021-22 season.