Raptors forward Brandon Ingram has love for New Orleans despite fresh start in Toronto

As then-New Orleans Pelicans forward Brandon Ingram was helped off the hardwood floor after suffering a high ankle sprain on Dec. 7, 2024, he felt like he was wearing a Pelicans uniform for the last time.

Ingram ended up being right. His next NBA regular-season game will be in a Toronto Raptors uniform this season.

“That was more of a sign for me that it was time to get out. It was time to move on,” Ingram recently told Andscape.

Toronto has had some of the same challenges of youth and injuries as New Orleans in recent seasons, but Ingram believes he is in a much better place mentally in Canada. His first regular-season game since his ankle injury will be with the Raptors on Oct. 22 in Atlanta.

The Raptors have talented young players in 2022 NBA Rookie of the Year Scottie Barnes (24 years old), forward R.J. Barrett (24), guard Immanuel Quickley (26), and wing Gradey Dick (21). While seldom-used veteran guard Garrett Temple is the eldest of the Raptors at 39, Ingram feels like the “OG” of the Raptors at 28.

The 2020 All-Star believes Toronto has the talent to be a surprise Eastern Conference team. The Raptors finished 30-52 last season and haven’t made the playoffs since 2022.

“This team can be whatever we want it to be,” Ingram said. “We have everything on the defensive end. We play hard. The next thing is execution over and over again on the offensive end. … The East is wide open this [upcoming season]. We have a chance to be better, but we’ve got to expedite it.”

Another reason for Ingram’s happiness with the Raptors was that he received a major contract extension that was hard to get in New Orleans.

Ingram was hoping to land a maximum contract extension in New Orleans after the 2023-24 season. He averaged 23 points per game in 305 career contests with the Pelicans, but there were concerns over durability. Ingram never reached 65 games played in any of his five seasons in New Orleans. Then-Pelicans president David Griffin challenged Ingram and his representation to find a sign-and-trade partner willing to give the latter the contract he dreamed of.

With trade rumors going wild yet no max offer from any team, Ingram entered Pelicans training camp in 2024 ready for a new start. But he also planned on being professional until a change came. Making matters more challenging was that Ingram struggled for USA Basketball in the 2024 FIBA World Cup and in the 2024 NBA playoffs with the Pelicans.

While Ingram believed he was on his way out, in the back of his mind he thought things could actually work out with the Pelicans.

“I knew that I had missed a lot of games,” Ingram said. “I knew also that I had showed consistency in the way that I worked and everything that I was doing. And at that point, I was coming off of [playing for] USA [Basketball]. A lot of things weren’t going my way and I just felt like I needed to be in a new place. I needed to start something new going into last season.

“I still had hope to be in New Orleans. I got a lot of love for New Orleans. That’s where my first All-Star [appearance] was. I built a lot of relationships with not only my teammates but the people outside of the organization. But at that particular point, I just thought going into that summer I was just really free. I wanted to get better. I wanted to learn more, and I wanted to expand my game a little bit more.”

Entering Dec. 7, 2024, the Pelicans had lost 117 games to injury in the first six weeks of the season. Of those games, star forward Zion Williamson missed 18 of 24, while reserve guards Jose Alvarado and Jordan Hawkins both missed 13. Defensive standout guard Herb Jones returned to the lineup after missing 18 games, starting point guard Dejounte Murray came back after missing 17, and starting shooting guard CJ McCollum was back after missing 13.

Ingram was showing his worth, averaging 23.2 points per game, but he suffered a high left ankle sprain that night after landing awkwardly on the foot of Oklahoma City Thunder guard Luguentz Dort. Ingram’s injury was the final straw for his time in New Orleans and would later be deemed a season-ending one.

“I’m not going to bring everybody down because this is around the time when there was trade talk,” Ingram said. “I’m going to keep the gym uplifted. I’m going to be the same person. I know they expected me to be a ‘Debbie Downer.’ I just told myself I was going to keep everybody up, keep myself up, and I was going to play free. I thought I was doing that. …

“We had a lot of injuries. Funny thing, I was the last man standing in that starting five, including two or three off the bench. I was trying to do everything in my power to stay healthy, everything that I could do, everything in my control.”

The Raptors and the Atlanta Hawks were Ingram’s biggest suitors as the trade deadline approached last season. A sizeable contract extension was expected by any team that acquired Ingram. On Feb. 5, the Pelicans traded Ingram to the Raptors for guard Bruce Brown, forward Kelly Olynyk, a first-round pick and a second-round pick.

Six days later, then-Raptors president Masai Ujiri signed Ingram to a three-year, $120 million contract extension with a player option for the 2027-28 season. Ingram also didn’t feel pressured to rush back from his ankle injury and didn’t play for the Raptors last season. When Ingram makes his regular-season debut with Toronto, it will be nearly 10 months since he last played.

“I definitely felt a commitment right away when that trade happened,” Ingram said. “I also felt a commitment from my first talk with Masai. Throughout the process, when they were telling me they were interested in me, I felt love and commitment with how they raved about me on the phone. So, I was ready to get here to work and try to hopefully speed up my rehab.

“I knew the Raptors were kind of in a rebuilding situation. I knew I would have time to rehab. I was ready to get on with the work.”

Ingram left New Orleans as the Pelicans’ fifth all-time leading scorer with 7,017 points, and third in assists with 1,580. On Raptors’ Media Day, he raised eyebrows when he said Raptors fans pleasantly surprised him by always filling the stands regardless of the team’s struggles last season. He said that wasn’t the case in New Orleans.

Ingram told Andscape that he has always had love for the city of New Orleans and Pelicans fans, and he didn’t mean for that aforementioned comment to come off as disrespectful.

“I didn’t even know that it was a so-called ‘shot’ at New Orleans,” Ingram said. “Anyone who has been around me knows the love that I have for New Orleans. One of my homies from New Orleans texted me saying, ‘It’s crazy that you big upped your fans in Toronto and they take it as a slight.’ Everybody knows how much I love New Orleans. I really, really bought into New Orleans. I really loved everything about it, from the people and everything.

“I just made a comment that the arena was full [(in Toronto]. I never seen that. Whether it was losing or winning, the arena was super full. And it wasn’t like that in New Orleans all the time. It wasn’t like that when I played with the [Los Angeles] Lakers, and then I came to New Orleans. It was just filled up all the way. People take it any way they want to. My love still stands for New Orleans. It was the home of my first All-Star and where I started to find myself. I always got love for New Orleans.”

So far, the mild-mannered Ingram has also shown love as a leader and big brother for his Raptors teammates.

Ingram quickly formed a bond with several Raptors teammates, including then-rookie guard Jamal Shead. Ingram actually paid for Shead to take a private jet to see his former school, Houston, play in the 2025 NCAA men’s basketball Final Four in San Antonio. Ingram made $33.8 million last season, and Shead made $1.8 million as a rookie. Ingram also hosted several players in Los Angeles in August for a minicamp and paid for many of the expenses as they bonded on and off the court.

“I don’t ever notice that I’m one of the older guys until I just start looking around,” Ingram said. “Everybody here is 23, 24 or even younger. But I feel like when I was 24, I already had five years in the league because I came in pretty early. So, when I came over here, I just took some things from different veterans that I saw that I liked from my time with the Lakers and New Orleans. I know how hard your teammates go for you when you give them knowledge, when you give them advice, when you do stuff for them. That was important for me.

“I’m here to win. I’m here because I not only care about winning, but I care about people that I’m trying to win with. I knew I had to get to know the guys and host some things.”

Temple, who played with Ingram in New Orleans, said Ingram has shown “tremendous” leadership in Toronto and believes he will be an All-Star addition as a player.

 “He is always a guy that is under the radar and not very vocal all the time,” Temple said. “So, when he does speak people listen because they know it’s something serious. But honestly, he has just incorporated himself into the team. That is the biggest part of being the level of player that he is.

“A lot of the guys maybe stick to themselves, especially when you’re the only new guy. But his personality fits perfectly. He can be the life of the party without being loud. He’s befriended all the young guys, Scottie, R.J., things of that nature. But his demeanor really helps. The Bible talks about the quieter you are. … He’s a quiet leader. That is what we didn’t have on this team, so it’s really good to have him.”

For the Raptors to win, Ingram needs to be on the floor healthy, scoring and assisting. Ingram’s stellar play in the preseason for Toronto is a good sign so far.

But how this North Carolina native adapts to the cold of Canada is still a work in progress.

“My body feels good,” Ingram said. “I can still do the things that I am known to do. And I’m in control of myself. The training staff is really good at communicating with me and being there for me asking questions and overcommunicating. I feel like I’m in a good spot right now. …

“I’m still trying to figure [Toronto] out and get used to it. Last [season] when I got traded, I wasn’t used to being in the cold, and it snowed two months straight when I got there. I was wearing two pairs of clothes when I got there. But it’s been good. Everybody shows love whenever I go out.”

The post Raptors forward Brandon Ingram has love for New Orleans despite fresh start in Toronto appeared first on Andscape.