Raptors draft Jaden Bradley 50th overall

Jaden Bradley has been keeping his eye on the Toronto Raptors, and now they’re going to get to see him up close too.

Bradley was selected 50th overall by the Raptors in the second round of the NBA draft on Wednesday night. The six-foot-three guard said he’s been following Toronto’s defensive evolution closely and hopes to slot right in.

“Definitely paying attention, obviously, to Jamal Shead, Scottie Barnes, the other guys as well,” said Bradley in a video conference call shortly after he was drafted. “They guard on the other end, I feel like that’s big. That wins games.”

Shead is an obvious comparable to Bradley.

Both were drafted in the second round, with Shead going 45th in 2024. Both are defensive specialists who earned the Big 12 Player of the Year award, with Shead being honoured as a member of the Houston Cougars in 2024 and Bradley getting it this year with the Arizona Wildcats.

“I played against Shead at Houston, so just to see his professional development, he was a monster in college, but he’s really turning it on offensively,” said Bradley, who also played against Raptors forward Gradey Dick when he played NCAA basketball.

“(Shead’s) coming along, so just can’t wait to pick his brain, learn from some of the best.”

The 22-year-old Bradley averaged 13.3 points, 4.4 assists, 3.4 rebounds and 1.4 steals over 39 games with the Wildcats (36-3 overall), one of the best teams in NCAA Division 1 men’s basketball last season.

Bradley believes playing for the competitive U.S. collegiate team has prepared him for the NBA.

“Kind of a similar role (in Toronto) but obviously there’s going to be some changes, so I’m just excited,” said Bradley.

Bradley was also named to the first team All-Big 12, the conference’s all-defensive team, and was the Big 12 tournament’s MVP.

“He’s a perfect example of the four-year player who had a ton of success in college and rode out his entire eligibility and is a very accomplished player coming into the NBA,” said Raptors assistant general manager Dan Tolzman. “He’s going to be one of these guys that has pretty much seen it all, a little bit of a seasoned veteran as a rookie.

“We’ve had a lot of success with those sorts of guys in the past.”

Toronto took 19-year-old power forward Allen Graves with the 19th overall pick in Tuesday’s first round. Graves averaged 11.8 points, 6.5 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game for the Santa Clara Broncos last season.

He also had 1.9 steals and 0.9 blocks per game in his only NCAA season, earning him the West Coast Conference Freshman of the Year award and Sixth Man of the Year award.

Tolzman said that Toronto will also explore signing some undrafted free agents.

“Every team is, and I know the guys are in the back working on it right now, just seeing who’s out there,” said Tolzman in a video call from OVO Athletic Centre. “So much of that is very much summer league and camp driven, like the two-way spots and those lower-tier roster spots that we have to just kind of prepare for the competitions with.

“How that impacts the bigger team with like the 15-man roster, it’s kind of hard to say at this point.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 24, 2026.

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