TORONTO – Ochai Agbaji's relatively small stature won't stop him from defending some of the NBA's biggest and best forwards.
Agbaji's main defensive duties during the Toronto Raptors' 119-118 victory over the Boston Celtics on Tuesday were star forwards Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. Those are tough grades for the 6-foot-7 Agbaji, who gives up an inch to Brown and three to Tatum, but the Raptors forward is up for the challenge.
“I take that into consideration every night,” Agbaji said. “That's the fun of it, showing up and having a match like that, having the defending champions and knowing that you have to take the game to another level.
“It's just always fun, no matter what the matchup is, whether it's them or Kevin Durant or whoever it is, it's always fun to fight them.”
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Agbaji averaged 6.7 points, 3.3 rebounds and 1.3 assists in 27 games for the Raptors last season after Toronto acquired him in a trade with the Utah Jazz on Feb. 8. He was listed as a scorer in all of these games – his natural position – but on the relatively smaller Raptors, he will spend most of the upcoming season playing against the biggest ones.
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“There has to be a midfielder mentality in defense,” Agbaji said. “Without a doubt, everyone has a helping attitude and is willing to hide whenever their player finds himself in a wake-up situation or gets hit by the ball.
“It is what it is and it has to be a collective effort every night.”
Brown averaged 23 points, 5.5 rebounds and 3.6 assists in his third all-star appearance last season. Tatum earned MVP votes and was named an All-Star for the fifth straight year after averaging 26.9 points, 8.1 rebounds and 4.9 assists last season.
Despite facing two scoring juggernauts, Agbaji had a game-high plus-29 defensive rating on Tuesday and limited them to below-average points, with Brown scoring 19 and Tatum 24.
Agbaji had 16 points, five rebounds and three assists on Tuesday. These points came on 7 of 11 shots on target, including 1 of 4 on three-point attempts.
“For me, the priority is what he does defensively because he impacted the game in a very, very big way,” Raptors head coach Darko Rajakovic said. “Tonight he was also able to score in transition and create those opportunities.
“He can do a lot of other things that can impact our game (besides shooting).
The Raptors will face the Nets in Brooklyn on Friday in their final preseason game.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 16, 2024.
