Walter was the 19th overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft and was chosen based on his excellent three-point shooting, though it remains to be seen if that will be enough to grant him a regular role in the rotation right away. He falls into a good situation, however, as the Raptors are embracing a rebuilding process and are relying on young players such as Gradey Dick and Immanuel Quickley. The path toward seeing regular minutes looks complicated early on, but Walter could see his minutes increase as long as he adjusts to the NBA. His three-point shooting should be valuable in category-based leagues, but given that he's expected to open the 2024-25 season as a rookie bench option on a rebuilding franchise, his fantasy upside will be close to minimal. Walter might have some upside in deeper and/or dynasty leagues, but he shouldn't be targeted in standard formats. Read Past Outlooks
$Signed a two-year, $7.1 million contract with the Raptors in July of 2024. Contract includes $3.81 million team option for 2026-27.
Personal Bio/PreCareer Summary
As a high school junior in McKinney, TX, Walter won the state championship. For his senior campaign, he transferred to Link Academy in Branson, MO where he was selected to play in the 2023 McDonald's All-American Boys Game and for Team USA in the Nike Hoops Summit. A five-star recruit, he committed to playing college ball for Baylor. During the 2023-24 season, Walter was named Big 12 Freshman of the Year and voted Third-Team All-Big 12. Across his 35 appearances, he averaged 14.5 points, 4.4 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 1.1 steals in 32.3 minutes. First and foremost, Walter is a three-point shooter. Of his 10.9 shot attempts per game, 6.3 of them came from distance. He drained 2.1 per game at 34.1 percent. While that's not an elite number, he took plenty of difficult movement triples. He's capable of pump faking and driving off his three-point threat, but he's not a top-shelf athlete and needs to work on his finishing around the basket. He'll often pump fake to push in and shoot a mid-ranger. Taking a step forward as a ballhandler and passer would do wonders for his potential. Defensively, Walter struggles from a lack of footspeed and may be better off guarding bigger players given his 6-foot-10 wingspan on a 6-foot-5 frame. Walter's gravity as a three-point shooter, especially one who can move off-ball, should be valuable to any NBA franchise. At the very least, he could operate as a specialist. If he can continue developing as a playmaker and defender, Walter could grow into a role similar to Devin Vassell. While Walter may not project as a primary offensive engine, he could develop into someone who can run secondary actions and make tough jumpers near the end of the shot clock.
ANALYSIS The rookie will replace Jakob Poeltl (groin) in the starting five on Thursday, marking his fifth start through 14 regular-season appearances this year. Walter provided a spark for the Raptors while coming off the bench in his last five outings, during which he averaged 9.6 points, 2.4 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.0 steals while shooting 40.9 percent from the field across 23.2 minutes per contest.
2024 NBA Per Game Split Stats - Starting/Off Bench
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2024 NBA Per Game Split Stats - Days Rest
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2024 NBA Per Game Split Stats - Vs Opp
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2024 NBA Per Game Split Stats - By Result
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Advanced Stats
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2024
Stat Review
How does Ja'Kobe Walter compare to other players?
This section compares his stats with all players from the previous three seasons (minimum 200 minutes played)*. The bar represents the player's percentile rank. For example, if the bar is halfway across, then the player falls into the 50th percentile for that stat and it would be considered average.
True Shooting %
An advanced statistic that measures a player's efficiency at shooting the ball that takes field goal percentage, free throw percentage, and three point percentage into account.
Effective Field Goal %
A statistic that adjusts field goal percentage to account for the fact that three-point field goals count for three points while field goals only count for two points.
3-Point Attempt Rate
Percentage of field goal attempts from three point range.
Free Throw Rate
Number of free throw attempts per field goal attempt.
Offensive Rebound %
An estimate of the percentage of available offensive rebounds a player grabbed while they were on the floor.
Defensive Rebound %
An estimate of the percentage of available defensive rebounds a player grabbed while they were on the floor.
Total Rebound %
An estimate of the percentage of available rebounds a player grabbed while they were on the floor.
Assist %
An estimate of the percentage of teammate field goals a player assisted while they were on the floor.
Steal %
An estimate of the percentage of opponent possessions that end with a steal by the player while they were on the floor.
Block %
An estimate of the percentage of opponent two-point field goal attempts blocked by the player while they were on the floor.
Turnover %
An estimate of turnovers committed per 100 plays.
Usage %
An estimate of the percentage of team plays used by a player while they were on the floor.
Fantasy Points Per Game
NBA Fantasy Points Per Game.
Fantasy Points Per Minute
NBA Fantasy Points Per Minute.
True Shooting %
43.2%
Effective Field Goal %
41.2%
3-Point Attempt Rate
45.4%
Free Throw Rate
13.9%
Offensive Rebound %
5.5%
Defensive Rebound %
12.5%
Total Rebound %
8.9%
Assist %
11.1%
Steal %
1.4%
Block %
1.1%
Turnover %
8.7%
Usage %
19.3%
Fantasy Points Per Game
14.9
Fantasy Points Per Minute
0.8
Total
Per Game
Per 36
NBA Historical Fantasy Stats
How are these ratings calculated?
Our historical fantasy ratings are standard scores calculated using 8-Category settings with 12 teams and 13 players per team.
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NBA Per Game Historical Fantasy Stats
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NBA Per 36 Historical Fantasy Stats
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Historical ADP
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Raptors Depth Chart
Our full team depth charts are reserved for RotoWire subscribers.
Average Fantasy Points are determined when Ja'Kobe Walter was active vs. non-active during the season. Click here to view average fantasy points for a different time period.
Minutes
FanDuel
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Yahoo
FantasyDraft
Head2Head
Sorare
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More Fantasy News
Solid outing in close loss Monday
GToronto Raptors
December 17, 2024
Walter closed Monday's 122-121 loss to Chicago with six points (3-6 FG, 0-1 3Pt), three rebounds, two assists and two steals across 24 minutes.
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Scores career-high 19 points
GToronto Raptors
December 10, 2024
Walter accumulated 19 points (6-12 FG, 3-7 3Pt, 4-5 FT), one rebound and two assists over 22 minutes during Monday's 113-108 loss to New York.
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Won't start Thursday
GToronto Raptors
December 5, 2024
Walter will come off the bench in Thursday's game against the Thunder, Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca reports.
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Double-double in Wednesday's start
GToronto Raptors
November 28, 2024
Walter produced 14 points (6-14 FG, 2-10 3Pt, 0-1 FT), 11 rebounds, five assists and two steals in 28 minutes during Wednesday's 119-93 win over New Orleans.
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ANALYSIS The Pelicans hold the 21st pick in this year's draft, and they would be wise to add another guard to the roster since they have enough scoring weapons already. Walter spent the 2023-24 season with Baylor and posted solid numbers, averaging 14.5 points, 4.4 rebounds and 1.4 assists per contest. However, he's not much of a passer, and the fact that he shot only 34.1 percent from three in 2023-24 suggests he's still a work in progress offensively.