Wizards at Raptors Preview: Washington hosts the Raptors in DC

OKLAHOMA CITY, OKLAHOMA - OCTOBER 30: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander #2 of the Oklahoma City Thunder handles the ball in front of Bub Carrington #7 of the Washington Wizards during the first half at Paycom Center on October 30, 2025 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and

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Game Info

When: Friday, October 23rd at 7:00 p.m. ET

How to watch: Monumental Sports Network, League Pass

Where: Capital One Arena, Washington, DC

Injury Report

Raptors: Nate Bittle – Out (Foot)

Wizards: AJ Dybansta – Out (Ankle), Jamir Watkins – Out (Knee), Tristan Vukcevic – Out (Hip)

Pregame notes

After winning the season opener, the Wizards take on the Toronto Raptors. Toronto comes in with a victory of their own as they throttled Chicago Bulls by 43 points to open up the season.

The Raptors have made some changes to their roster, but

none more heralded than the acquisition of Kawhi Leonard, who previously won a NBA Championship and NBA Finals MVP in his one season with Toronto back in 2019.

There are big things expected for the Raptors coming off a playoff appearance last season. This team is looking to make some noise as an Eastern Conference contender, which is why the addition of Leonard was so critical for their aspirations to ascend.

This game certainly would be a statement game for the Washington Wizards, who are looking to climb up into the Eastern Conference upper tier as well. After struggling for three quarters on Wednesday, the Wizards were able to finally put the Milwaukee Bucks away after a strong 4th quarter performance on both ends of the floor. Despite their struggle behind the arc, shooting only 21 percent from 3, the Wizards were able to pull off the opening win on the strength of 70 points in the paint and getting to the free throw line (41 attempts).

This will look like the formula for much of the season as the Wizards have a decisive size advantage on most nights, but in order for their team to compete with teams like Toronto they must clean up their defense and shoot from 3 at a much better clip. These are the two areas to pay attention to in this one.

Can Wizards pull of another win without their #1 draft pick, AJ Dybansta? Can the Wizards show the league that they can compete with the playoff teams in the East? The Raptors will be a great barometer to see how far this team is already in the season.