TORONTO – The biggest test of Darko Rajakovic’s fledgling NBA coaching career came in the middle of his second season, just as the calendar flipped to 2025.

Between early December and mid-January, the Toronto Raptors dropped 16 of 17 games. But it wasn’t just that they were losing games, it was how they were losing them. Five of their nine-worst losses of the season came during that five-week stretch, including a franchise-record 54-point drubbing in Boston on New Year's Eve.

It got particularly ugly around Christmas time. The seemingly endless barrage of early-season injuries was taking a toll. Energy and effort were lacking across the roster. Collectively, it appeared as though the team was beginning to take its foot off the gas and succumb to the realities of a lost campaign.

This season was never going to be judged by wins and losses. Process was always supposed to be more important than the result, and despite a 7-15 record going into the December skid, the team was surprisingly competitive and showing impressive togetherness and resolve. But it’s one thing to build camaraderie during the summertime or have good vibes in training camp. How would it hold up once adversity struck?

In four games going into the New Year, they allowed an average of 138.8 points and lost those contests by a combined 126 points. That’s the type of thing that can break a team’s spirit, divide a locker room, and prompt players to start tuning out the message and turning on the coach. Instead, it galvanized them and reaffirmed something to the people in charge: they had found the right guy to steer them through the early stages of their rebuild.

Rajakovic emerged as a dark horse candidate in Toronto’s 2023 coaching search. A long-time NBA assistant with Oklahoma City, Phoenix and Memphis, the 46-year-old native of Serbia came highly regarded for his background in player development and ability to cultivate lasting relationships, both prerequisites for a team in transition. Those qualities have come in handy, with two tumultuous seasons on the job (nearly) in the books.

He’s been tasked with building a winning culture from the ground up and adhering to the front office’s long-term vision – priorities that aren’t always aligned – while managing an ever-changing roster due to injuries, multiple franchise-shifting trades and now, a soft tank. But he’s done it all while staying true to his roots as a coach and earning the trust of his players, without wavering or altering his approach or demeanor. That’s what helped them get through their worst stretch of the season.

“He didn’t change,” 15-year veteran Garrett Temple told TSN last week. “I think you really [get to] know somebody once adversity hits… He’s been in this league for a long time, and he understands that there’s going to be a lull. But if he stays consistent in his actions and what he does day-to-day then the team is more than likely to continue to stay consistent. If he gets crazy........

© TSN