{"id":148327,"date":"2025-07-01T16:10:32","date_gmt":"2025-07-01T20:10:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=148327"},"modified":"2025-07-01T16:10:32","modified_gmt":"2025-07-01T20:10:32","slug":"raptors-re-sign-jakob-poeltl-to-four-year-104-million-extension","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2025\/07\/01\/raptors-re-sign-jakob-poeltl-to-four-year-104-million-extension\/","title":{"rendered":"Raptors Re-sign Lottery Pick To Four-Year $104 Million Extension"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>TORONTO<\/strong> \u2013 The <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/category\/raptors\/\" target=\"_self\">Toronto Raptors<\/a> have locked in their starting center for the foreseeable future. <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.espn.com\/nba\/story\/_\/id\/45629696\/sources-raptors-c-jakob-poeltl-agree-4-yr-104m-extension\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">According<\/a> to ESPN, center <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/p\/poeltja01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Jakob Poeltl<\/a> has agreed to a four-year, $104 million extension that will keep him under contract through the 2029-30 season. Jakob Poeltl\u2019s extension marks another critical piece of the Raptors&#8217; effort to end its rebuild and return to playoff relevance.<\/p>\n<h2>Raptors Re-sign Lottery Pick, Jakob Poeltl To Four-Year $104 Million Extension<\/h2>\n<p>Poeltl will exercise his $19.5 million player option for the 2026-27 season and tack on three more years to that deal. His agents, Michael Tellem and Sam Goldfeder of Excel Sports, negotiated several scenarios, but both sides agreed that an opt-in-and-extend gave Toronto the most roster flexibility in the coming seasons.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Toronto Raptors center Jakob Poeltl has agreed on a four-year, $104 million contract extension with the franchise through 2029-30, sources tell ESPN. Poeltl will pick up his 2026-27 player option at $19.5M and add three additional years to his deal. <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/wBHnoF5vUV\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/wBHnoF5vUV<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ShamsCharania\/status\/1940115704751300674?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">July 1, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<h3><strong>A Reliable Presence In The Paint<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Poeltl delivered his best season as a pro last year. He logged career highs in minutes (29.6), points (14.5) and rebounds (9.6) per game. He also shot an impressive 63% from the field, which ranked fifth in the league among qualified players.<\/p>\n<p>Jakob Poeltl&#8217;s extension keeps one of the NBA\u2019s most efficient big men on the Raptors. Remarkably, Poeltl is one of only three players to shoot at least 60% from the floor in each of the last eight seasons, joining <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/g\/goberru01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Rudy Gobert<\/a> and <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/j\/jordade01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">DeAndre Jordan<\/a> in that rare company, courtesy of ESPN statistics.<\/p>\n<p>He has shot 64% in his five seasons as a Raptor \u2014 the best mark in franchise history for players with over 500 attempts. Poeltl\u2019s touch extends beyond dunks. He ranks top-10 leaguewide in shooting percentage on floaters and near the basket, per GeniusIQ data.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Poeltl\u2019s Game Grows With Raptors\u2019 Youth Movement<\/strong><\/h3>\n<figure id=\"attachment_148337\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-148337\" style=\"width: 640px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-148337\" src=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2025\/07\/USATSI_25848922_168415934_lowres-1024x687.jpg\" alt=\"By offering Jakob Poeltl this extension, the Raptors commit further to this core led by Scottie Barnes \" width=\"640\" height=\"429\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2025\/07\/USATSI_25848922_168415934_lowres-1024x687.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2025\/07\/USATSI_25848922_168415934_lowres-300x201.jpg 300w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2025\/07\/USATSI_25848922_168415934_lowres-768x515.jpg 768w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2025\/07\/USATSI_25848922_168415934_lowres-1536x1030.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2025\/07\/USATSI_25848922_168415934_lowres.jpg 1992w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-148337\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Apr 4, 2025; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Detroit Pistons guard Malik Beasley (5) shoots the ball as Toronto Raptors center Jakob Poeltl 919) defends in the first half at Scotiabank Arena. Mandatory Credit: Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The 29-year-old center isn\u2019t just scoring easy buckets. He contributes in ways that help Toronto\u2019s young core flourish. Last season, Poeltl finished top-10 in the NBA in screen assists per game and points generated from screen assists. Poeltl\u2019s Extension ensures <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/b\/barnesc01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Scottie Barne<\/a>s,<a  href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/b\/barrerj01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> RJ Barrett<\/a> and newly acquired <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/i\/ingrabr01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Brandon Ingram<\/a> have an elite screener who opens lanes and creates scoring chances.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Rebuild Gathers Momentum<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Toronto has missed the playoffs since 2022, enduring back-to-back losing seasons including a 30-52 campaign in 2024-25. But the Raptors front office believes Jakob Poeltl\u2019s presence will stabilize the middle of the floor as they try to climb back up the Eastern Conference standings.<\/p>\n<p>The Raptors now boast a promising group led by rising star Barnes and Canadian wing Barrett. At February\u2019s trade deadline, Toronto swung a deal for former All-Star Ingram. Though Ingram sat out the remainder of the season recovering from an ankle injury, he will form a dynamic duo with Barnes once healthy.<\/p>\n<p>Toronto also drafted South Carolina\u2019s <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/m\/murraco01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Collin Murray-Boyles<\/a> ninth overall last week. Scouts view him as a high-upside defensive prospect who could help Toronto regain its defensive edge.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>A Window In The East<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>The Eastern Conference landscape offers hope. The <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/category\/celtics\/\" target=\"_self\">Celtics<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/category\/pacers\/\" target=\"_self\">Pacers<\/a> each face roster and injury questions heading into 2025-26. The Raptors see a chance to break back into the postseason if they can get healthy, develop their young core and maximize the value ofJakob Poeltl\u2019s extension.<\/p>\n<p>By re-signing Poeltl, Toronto commits to a reliable center who fits perfectly with Barnes\u2019 playmaking and Ingram\u2019s scoring. For a franchise that has quietly stockpiled pieces, the next step is clear: transform potential into results and make Scotiabank Arena a playoff venue again.<\/p>\n<p><label>Credit:<\/label>\u00a9 Brad Penner-Imagn Images<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>TORONTO \u2013 The Toronto Raptors have locked in their starting center for the foreseeable future. According to ESPN, center Jakob Poeltl has agreed to a four-year, $104 million extension that will keep him under contract through the 2029-30 season. Jakob Poeltl\u2019s extension marks another critical piece of the Raptors&#8217; effort to end its rebuild and [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5018,"featured_media":148336,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[62,1608,3,14],"tags":[50219,968,2113,4557],"class_list":["post-148327","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nba","category-basketball","category-news","category-raptors","tag-2025-nba-free-agents","tag-jakob-poeltl","tag-nba-contract-extension","tag-nba-offseason"],"modified_by":"Frederick Okocha","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/148327","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5018"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=148327"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/148327\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":148338,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/148327\/revisions\/148338"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/148336"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=148327"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=148327"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=148327"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}