Darko Rajakovic Receives Multiyear Extension With Raptors

Rajakovic has compiled a 101-145 (.411) regular season record since taking over the team in 2023. He led Toronto to a 46-36 mark this season and a seven-game loss to Cleveland in the opening round of the playoffs.

The Raptors have shown steady progress under Rajakovic, who led a rebuilding team to 25 wins in his first season and 30 victories in his second. This year’s postseason appearance was only their second since 2020.

He’ll now have a chance to coach a legitimate contender in the East, as Toronto is adding Kawhi Leonard in one of the major moves of the offseason. Leonard is returning to the city where he won a championship in 2019 and will once again be surrounded by a talented young roster.

Toronto promoted and extended general manager Bobby Webster last month and is focused on creating organizational stability. A long-term deal for Rajakovic was considered to be “in the works” at the time, but it took a few weeks to get everything finalized.

Rajakovic, 47, was a successful coach in Europe before coming to the NBA. He spent a decade as an assistant in Oklahoma City, Phoenix and Memphis before being named the 10th head coach in Raptors history.

Throughout his three years in Toronto, Rajakovic has shown the ability to deal with adversity, roster turnover and now the expectation to succeed, notes Josh Lewenberg of TSN Sports (Twitter link). He’s been able to build a culture and earn the respect of his players while convincing ownership that he’s capable of leading a team that now has real title hopes.

Lewenberg also suggests that Rajakovic can win over Leonard’s trust with his coaching style and states that they could form “a really strong partnership” (Twitter link).