A.J. Lawson Fights for Bench Minutes as Raptors Open Camp
A.J. Lawson heads into 2026-27 back with Toronto after a 24-game season mostly spent at the end of the rotation. He is not on the injury report. The opener is still ahead, and his path to minutes runs through training camp.
By the Hoops Nightly Desk · updated 45 d ago01The story of the nightWhere Lawson Fits NowA.J.
A.J. Lawson wears No. 0 for the Raptors, a guard listed at 6-6 and 179 pounds. He is 26 years old, out of South Carolina, with four seasons of NBA experience. Last season he played 24 games for Toronto, averaging 9.4 minutes a night. That is a fringe-rotation role, not a starting job, and nothing in his recent stretch suggests that changed by the end of the year. He enters 2026-27 already on the roster, which means his fight is for playing time within the group Toronto already has, not for a roster spot from outside the organization.
02Last Season By The NumbersIn 2025-26, Lawson averaged 4.2 points, 1.8 rebounds, 0.3 assists, 0.5 steals and 0.2 blocks in 9.4 minutes over 24…
In 2025-26, Lawson averaged 4.2 points, 1.8 rebounds, 0.3 assists, 0.5 steals and 0.2 blocks in 9.4 minutes over 24 games. He shot 43.6 percent from the field, 42.2 percent from three and 77.8 percent from the line, with a true shooting mark of 58.8 percent. His usage rate sat at 17.2 percent and his plus-minus was -0.4. The efficiency numbers stand out for a bench guard: a 42.2 percent three-point mark in limited minutes is a real shooting indicator, even if the sample size and playing time were both small.
Lawson4.2 ppg
Jr.4.2 ppg
DAL
MIN
TOR