After a disheartening run last season, the Toronto Raptors decided to change their style of play and install a winning-mentality into their culture. It worked extremely well during the regular season, leading to a franchise-best 59 wins, but it also led to a damaging sweep and the branding of “LeBronto” in the playoffs
By looking at win-shares (primer here), we can see an informed estimate to the total contribution an individual makes to their team’s success. From that, we can also calculate (methodology here) and compare each player’s salary to the $ value they produced for the team.
We can see from the table above that the emphasis on ball-movement led to the starting lineup making statistical sacrifices to get the younger bench involved and it worked beautifully. The emergence of Siakim, VanVleet, Anunoby, Poeltl, and Wright helped the Raptors install a system of ball-sharing and emphasizing wins over personal stat lines.
However, with the firing of coach Casey, we have yet to see whether the Raptors can replicate similar results next season.
Tables
| Name | Win share | 2017-18 | $ Value of Productivity |
| Kyle Lowry | 10.20 | $28,703,704 | $19,177,475.80 |
| DeMar DeRozan | 9.60 | $27,739,975 | $18,049,388.99 |
| Serge Ibaka | 5.10 | $20,061,729 | $9,588,737.90 |
| Jonas Valanciunas | 7.60 | $15,460,675 | $14,289,099.62 |
| C.J. Miles | 2.90 | $7,936,509 | $5,452,419.59 |
| Lucas Nogueira | 1.60 | $2,947,305 | $3,008,231.50 |
| Jakob Poeltl | 5.60 | $2,825,640 | $10,528,810.24 |
| Delon Wright | 4.50 | $1,645,200 | $8,460,651.09 |
| OG Anunoby | 3.00 | $1,645,200 | $5,640,434.06 |
| Norman Powell | 0.60 | $1,471,382 | $1,128,086.81 |
| Fred VanVleet | 4.70 | $1,312,611 | $8,836,680.03 |
| Pascal Siakam | 4.70 | $1,312,611 | $8,836,680.03 |
| Alfonzo McKinnie | 0.10 | $815,615 | $188,014.47 |
| Lorenzo Brown | 0.20 | $8,612 | $376,028.94 |
| Malcolm Miller | 0.20 | $50,000 | $376,028.94 |
