Masai Ujiri gave his end-of-season address on Wednesday, expressing strong confidence in the Toronto Raptors’ direction despite finishing with a 30-52 record in the 2024-25 season. Ujiri emphasized that winning another championship remains his primary focus, referencing how he wasn’t able to fully enjoy the 2019 title due to an altercation with security and immediate concerns about Kawhi Leonard’s free agency.
Ujiri praised the organizational alignment currently in place, drawing parallels to the early years of the Kyle Lowry-DeMar DeRozan era when a coordinated effort led to successful seasons and eventually a championship foundation.
Toronto finished 34 games behind Eastern Conference leader Cleveland and 14 games behind the final playoff spot, but Ujiri highlighted several positive developments, including Scottie Barnes’ leadership growth, their promising rookie class, and the acquisition of Brandon Ingram.
Barnes received particular praise from Ujiri for his off-court development, with the president giving the 23-year-old an “A-plus” for how he’s embraced his role as the franchise cornerstone after being challenged to step up as a leader.
“For me, one of the things I really challenged Scottie with, and he challenged himself with this year, was becoming the leader. Because he’s not shy about that. We’ve put this on him, and he’s taken it with pride,” said Ujiri. “… that has been impressive for me to see him in this mode and hold guys accountable and try to be accountable himself.
“You guys have seen him here and the way he’s developed as a young man in this league and trying to win. We put him in a tough situation, too, this year with the team and what we’re trying to do. But Scottie was always there. He gave it his all. There are many things he’s going to work on. I had long talks throughout the year and at the end of the season, and I believe he continues to get better with everything. But honestly, I was very, very focused and we were very focused on off the court (and) many of the things that he’s going to have to represent in this organization, and I thought he got an A-plus with those things.”
When asked about the team’s culture following the complete dismantling of the championship roster, Ujiri didn’t hesitate to award another top mark.
“A-plus, A-plus,” said Ujiri. “When you look at these guys and see what they’ve done … we have that focus, of playing together and playing the right way, and attacking the game. It’s really built our culture.”
“You see, the culture of the players even off the court. I never want to reference this, but there’s great resemblance to the ‘Bench Mob’ (the nickname for the bench unit featuring then second-year Raptors Jakob Poeltl, VanVleet and Siakam that was so effective in the 59-win 2017-18 season) … I’m not even talking about play,” said Ujiri.
Ujiri addressed the upcoming ownership transition with Rogers Communications set to become the majority owner of MLSE, expressing confidence that the change would be seamless for basketball operations.
While not directly addressing his own contract situation, Ujiri revealed he’s working to secure extensions for his executive team and spoke passionately about future plans, suggesting his continued commitment to the organization.
“The goal is always a championship, and there’s something about our championship that maybe, and I feel like maybe I did not enjoy, and I feel like we just have to win another one, and we will win another one here. And that’s, that’s how I feel inside. Every day I wake up, I sleep, I drink, I eat, is to come and try to win. You know, nothing else,” Ujiri said.
“I guarantee you I’m going to enjoy it. And I guarantee you we are going to win here. That’s where my mind is in terms of the day-to-day job.”