Shead providing leadership on and off the court

TORONTO – Before every Toronto Raptors game Jamal Shead starts bouncing in place, dancing to the music during warm-ups. A conga line forms up behind him with the Raptors’ entire bench getting in line, bouncing along behind him.

They then break in unison and jog forward, giving high fives to Toronto’s starters, coaches and other personnel, getting fired up.

“It’s just fun, man. It gets us hype, gets us doing something before the game, and gets us talking to each other,” said Shead. “High fives, getting hand touches, and just getting ourselves prepared for the game.”

The tradition was started by veteran shooting guard Garrett Temple when he joined the Raptors for the 2023-24 season. After three seasons in Toronto, Temple retired as a player and became an assistant coach for new Dallas Mavericks head coach Dusty May starting this campaign.

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“Last year, when he wasn’t available, the couple of games he missed, I filled in for him and did it,” said Shead, who was usually second in the conga line behind Temple. “So I knew once he was gone this year that I had to do it.”

Shead provided a different kind of spark on Wednesday, scoring 13 points, dishing out seven assists, and grabbing two steals off the bench in the Raptors’ 129-99 rout of the Orlando Magic.

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Head coach Darko Rajakovic and all-star forward Scottie Barnes both credited Shead with turning around a slow start by Toronto.

“I thought that once Jamal Shead checked in, he changed the game,” said Rajakovic. “He was really following our principles, doing a great job on the ball, and once he started doing that, our whole team they picked up from that point.

“I thought that we did really good job with our hand activity on defensive end, and that we were able to get out in transition and score a lot.”

Barnes, who lead all scorers with 28 points and added six rebounds and four assists for Toronto (3-1), could pinpoint the moment when Shead’s presence changed the momentum of the game.

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“He came in late in the second quarter, and I think the lead went from like around 10 to 17,” said Barnes. “He did a great job being on ball, was getting steals, being active.

“It just elevated everybody else. Everybody was getting more active, guarding the ball. We’re talking more on defence, and it definitely gave us that spark that we needed.”

The two teams will meet at Scotiabank Arena again on Friday in an NBA Cup game.

“We take one game at a time. I thought that we were prepared for this game tonight,” said Rajakovic. “I think there is a lot to learn from this game.

“I always like to look at these games like mini playoff series, you know? It allows you to go back to analyze, to see what you can do better, and to learn from that.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 29, 2026.