Toronto Raptors rookie is already earning high praise from rival NBA teams

The Toronto Raptors knew they landed one of the best two-way players in the 2026 NBA Draft when they selected 6-foot-9 forward Allen Graves with the 19th overall pick out of Santa Clara University.

And the rest of the league appears to agree.

According to the NBA's annual general manager survey, which polls league executives on the best players, teams, coaches, and offseason moves ahead of the 2026-27 season, the Raptors rookie earned some recognition. When GMs were asked which rookie was the biggest steal relative to where he was selected in the 2026 draft class, Graves received the second-most votes.

The Toronto Raptors drafted Allen Graves 19th overall in the 2026 NBA Draft. (Brad Penner/Imagn Images)

The 20-year-old from Ponchatoula, La., earned 10 per cent of the vote, meaning three GMs from the league's 30 teams viewed the Raptors pick as the "biggest steal" of the draft class.

Point guard Brayden Burries, who was selected 10th overall by the Milwaukee Bucks, had the highest number of votes at nine.

In Graves' short time as a Raptor, he has already given fans a glimpse of what he can bring to this playoff team. During NBA Summer League in July, Graves averaged 16.8 points on 51 per cent shooting, along with 6.8 rebounds and 2.3 steals across four games.

Graves received the second-highest number of votes from GMs when it came to the biggest steal in the 2026 draft class. (NBA.com)

Some scouts have compared his game to former NBA forward Boris Diaw, describing Graves as a versatile player who does a little bit of everything and doesn't need the ball in his hands to make an impact on the floor.

Raptors fans got a chance to see Graves in action at Scotiabank Arena on Tuesday night for the first time, when Toronto routed the New York Knicks 148-98. Graves played 15 minutes off the bench, scoring five points on 1-for-7 shooting while grabbing three rebounds and picking up four fouls.

It was a debut Raptors head coach Darko Rajakovic had plenty of praise for, and even singled out Graves' negatives as positives.

"He was great. I thought that he had a great game, and it was great how he was aggressive on defence," Rajakovic said. "I even loved all the fouls that he picked up."

Graves role with the Raptors is likely to expand as the season moves forward, though like most rookies, he'll likely first see reps with Toronto's G League team once the season opens up in early November.