Starting off his NBA career with the Toronto Raptors in 2016, 7-foot-1 center Jakob Poeltl, was just another body to backup established big men Serge Ibaka and Jonas Valanciunas — providing the ability to clog up the paint with his size and rebound when needed.
Fast forward four years after his first stint with Toronto, the former 9th overall pick out of Utah looks almost unrecognizable in his second go-around after getting traded from the San Antonio Spurs right before the NBA trade deadline.
This has a large part to do with his development throughout his time in San Antonio, with the opportunity to play more minutes on a rebuilding under one of the most legendary coaches of all time Gregg Popovich.
Popovich understood the “unicorn potential”l that Poertl had with the modern game-changing to a mobile big-man league.
“He’s a worker, a runner, a rebounder. He’s a good utility infielder, does a little bit of everything, and does it with aggressiveness. He’s just going to get better and better.” Popovich said about Poeltl back in 2018 when he first joined the team.
Popovich’s vision on Poerltl was a sight to behold as he has coached legendary players by the likes of Tony Parker, Tim Duncan, and Manu Ginobili to master the art of all of the fundamentals as well as “doing the little” things on the court.
This mentality and play style has stuck with Poerltl and has shown in significant ways since coming back to Toronto, averaging 14.1 points and 8.9 rebounds in his last seven games.
Poeltl’s ability to be effective on the defensive boards has been paramount to the team’s success. He has helped the Raptors to achieve a 76.1% defensive rebounding percentage when he’s been on the court, compared to a mere 67.9% defensive rebounding percentage when he’s off the floor.
NBA NEWS: Jakob Poeltl & Toronto Raptors Updates
“It’s certainly a luxury to have someone with this size, and he’s just such a smart, intelligent player,” Raptor’s head coach Adrian Griffin said.
With the NBA playoffs right around the corner, and the Raptors currently sitting as the first team out (if the playoffs started today), Poerltl’s spark of late could be a catalyst to a playoff run with only 20 games remaining in the season.
The addition of Poerltl also has true potential to fill the void that was the glaring lack of depth at the center position with backups Precious Achiuwa, Christian Koloko, and Chris Boucher not playing consistently enough to make a big enough impact given the playoff implication.
NBA NEWS: Jakob Poeltl & Toronto Raptors Updates
It appears as though Poerltl hasn’t lost his rhythm with his old teammates Fred Vanvleet and Pascal Siakim, and instead played more comfortably as a member of the starting lineup, delivering his career-high as a Raptor, scoring 30 points in a 10-point win over the Orlando Magic.
“He was a game changer,” Magic head coach Jamahl Mosley said about Poerltl’s performance. [It’s] not just his offensive rebounds but his ability to set those solid screens. [We’re] navigating how to get back in front of him and then he does a great job of finishing at the rim.”
NBA NEWS: Jakob Poeltl & Toronto Raptors Updates
It will be interesting to see how much Poeltl’s veteran presence pays off for the Raptors down the stretch as the four quarter of the season edges out, but at the end of the day, having a 7-foot-1 player that can do all the things that most big men in the league can’t do is always a plus to have on any roster.
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