Former KU guard Ochai Agbaji regarded as rugged defender entering 3rd NBA season

As leading scorer on Kansas’ 2022 NCAA men’s basketball championship team, Ochai Agbaji earned a reputation as the Jayhawks’ go-to guy, their most reliable option on offense.

It hasn’t been that way through two years in the NBA for the Oak Park High/KU graduate, however. After averaging 18.8 points per game in his senior season at KU and 14.1 as a junior, Agbaji saw his scoring average dip to 6.7 in 27 games for the Toronto Raptors last season.

Now 24 years old, he averaged 7.9 points per game in 2022-23, his rookie season with the Utah Jazz, and 7.9 in 51 games for the Jazz a year ago ahead of a February trade to the Raptors.

Hitting just 21.7% of his 3-point attempts with Toronto after shooting 33.1% in Utah before the trade, Agbaji still had value for the Raptors. He came to be known as a “defensive stopper.”

“It’s a little bit of the same thing, kind of night in and night out, going in and having the toughest matchup, having to guard their best player,” the 6-foot-5, 215-pound shooting guard said in a group interview with reporters who cover the Raptors on Wednesday, the third day of training camp.

“The most important guy is the guy guarding the ball, but everyone behind him and supporting him is going to be key, too,” said Agbaji, who has a wingspan of 6 feet, 10 inches. “Just honing in on that and making sure there’s emphasis put on that.”

Agbaji is in the third year of a four-year rookie contract that will pay him $4,310,280 this season. He is said to be entering a crucial year regarding his future.

The Raptors have an option on Agbaji’s services for the 2025-26 season. The team has a deadline of Oct. 31 to exercise or decline it. Declining the option would make Agbaji a free agent after this season. Exercising it would mean Agbaji earns $6.4 million next season.

“It’s been really intense,” Agbaji said of the Raptors’ preseason workouts. “Guys have been getting after it. That’s all you can ask for, coming out here and having a positive energy, positive attitude and just competing and getting after each other.

“I think over time that’s going to make us better. There’s opportunity for everybody, opportunity for the young guys (and) obviously we have some vets here. It’s an opportunity for us to show what we can do. The intensity we can bring ... I think it’s a great opportunity for everyone.”

The Raptors, who went 25-57 a year ago, are in the midst of a rebuild. According to SI.com, Toronto has probable starters in Scottie Barnes, Immanuel Quickley, RJ Barrett and Jakob Poeltl.

Agbaji could be battling former KU wing Gradey Dick for the fifth-starter spot. Also in the mix are Bruce Brown, Kelly Olynyk, Ja’Kobe Walter and Davion Mitchell, as well as Jonathan Mogbo, Chris Boucher and Jamal Shead.

“(Agbaji) is one of the most physically talented players I’ve ever seen,” Olynyk, an 11-year NBA veteran who joined the Raptors alongside Agbaji in the trade-deadline deal with the Jazz, told SI.com. “I’ve never seen somebody backpedaling to jump higher. He jumps higher backpedaling than a lot of guys do going forward.

“He has a ceiling that’s pretty high and I don’t think he’s near it,” Olynyk added. “He can do a lot of things and I think he has an opportunity now to grow his game and show a little more and I’m looking forward to it.”

Raptors general manager Bobby Webster, to SI.com., said of Agbaji: “Hard working, high character two-way player (who) kind of fits the bill of guys we’ve pursued over the years. He has a lot of upside.”

Reporter Aaron Rose of SI.com recently wrote about the progress of Agbaji: “Toronto had hoped to fix his shot over the summer, but Abgaji didn’t look comfortable at NBA Summer League where he averaged just 6.0 points on 35.7% shooting across four games.

“What’s been clear is that Agbaji is a solid defender. He can hold his own on the wings. At times last year he was Toronto’s primary defender against the opposing team’s best player and was tasked with starting 18 games down the stretch for the Raptors. But entering this year it’s not clear if Agbaji will even start the season in Toronto’s rotation.

“Toronto isn’t likely to be a cap space team next summer, so there’s no obvious reason to move on from Agbaji. That said, if the Raptors are planning to use their full mid-level exception next season a little extra financial flexibility to use in free agency or in a trade next summer may not be such a bad thing. Toronto was able to turn salary cap space into multiple second-round picks in a deal with the Sacramento Kings last summer and giving up on Agbaji would create more flexibility below the luxury tax threshold.

“The Raptors likely won’t decline Agbaji’s option considering the relatively small size of the contract and the potential upside if he can develop into an adequate 3-point shooter. But while it’s an obvious decision for most prospects, Agbaji’s lackluster start to his career at least makes this situation a little bit more complicated.”