QUEBEC CITY — The end of every NBA practice is almost always the same: nearly every player on the roster spreads out to various baskets and engages in some kind of three-point shooting drill, or game, from various spots on the floor. 

The intensity varies, but the intent never does: try to get better at one of the sport’s most critical skills. 

The scene at the end of the second day of the Toronto Raptors training camp at Laval University in Quebec City wasn’t much different, but the hope is that the Raptors get a better return on their investment as they head into the 2026-27 season, because, for all their efforts, the Raptors have remained stubbornly below average as a team when it comes to knocking down threes.

Over the past three seasons under head coach Darko Rajakovic they have finished 21st, 23rd, and 27th in three-point percentage and 26th, 29th and 26th in makes. Even last season, when they connected on 35.4 per cent of their threes — their best mark under Rajakovic — they were still 0.6 per cent below league average of 36 percent. In 2024-25, they were 1.2 per cent below at 34.8 per cent.

“In our meeting today with the team, we were watching our offensive principles and how we want to play, and that was one of the big emphasis for us,” said Rajakovic. “Last season, we were taking 32 or 33 threes per game, and definitely our goal has to be a higher number and higher percentage this year.“

There is plenty of reason to believe the Raptors will be an even better team overall than they were when they won 46 games, earned the fifth seed and nearly toppled the Cleveland Cavaliers in the first round last season. Adding Kawhi Leonard to the roster is a big reason for that. 

The presence of the two-time Defensive Player of the Year and one of the NBA’s most effective steal machines should only help a defensive........

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