Raptors' RJ Barrett gets vital injury update before Warriors game

Toronto Raptors forward RJ Barrett has not played in over a month.

Mar 20, 2025; San Francisco, California, USA; Toronto Raptors guard RJ Barrett (9) warms up before the game against the Golden State Warriors at Chase Center. | John Hefti-Imagn Images

The Toronto Raptors are gearing up to take on the Golden State Warriors. While the Western Conference foe might have an advantage on paper, the Raptors received some promising news before the matchup.

Raptors star wing RJ Barrett was upgraded to questionable for their matchup with the Warriors, potentially putting him on track to play for the first time since suffering a right knee sprain on November 23 against the Brooklyn Nets.

Nov 19, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Toronto Raptors forward RJ Barrett (9) shoots the ball against the Philadelphia 76ers during the fourth quarter at Xfinity Mobile Arena. | Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

Raptors could get RJ Barrett back

In 17 appearances this season before his injury, Barrett averaged 19.4 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 3.8 assists per game, shooting a career-high 50.6 per cent from the field, 35.6 per cent from three-point range, and 72.5 per cent from the charity stripe.

More notably, the Raptors were actually winning with Barrett on the floor. The Raptors were 12-5 before Barrett's injury, looking like one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference and on an active seven-game winning streak. However, since then, the Raptors are just 6-9.

Raptors Win% this season:

.400 — without RJ Barrett
.706 — with RJ Barrett

We Miss you RJ 😔. #WeTheNorth pic.twitter.com/fWUHXi98o2

— RaptorsMuse 🦖 (@RaptorsMuseOk) December 27, 2025

Raptors head coach Darko Rajakovic assured that Barrett is progressing "very well" (per Sportsnet's Blake Murphy), although there is no indication of whether or not he will suit up against the star-studded Warriors. Barrett has been placed with a day-to-day tag, but all Raptors fans have the same thought: they need him back.

With Barrett on the floor, the Raptors are not only wildly more successful, but they have one of the NBA's top offenses. Without him, the Raptors are forced to lean on Brandon Ingram and Immanuel Quickley to create too much, without having another offensive-minded player to defer to.

With Barrett out, the Raptors have also been forced to experiment with either Ja'Kobe Walter or Ochai Agbaji, and simply said, they are much more effective with a lesser role.

There is no guarantee that Barrett will be ready to return against the Warriors, but upgrading his status to questionable rather than a hard "out" is enough to give the Raptors some optimism moving forward.

Unfortunately for the Raptors, they are still dealing with a notable injury to standout centre Jakob Poeltl, as he remains sidelined against the Warriors due to a lower back strain. The Raptors will also likely be without rookie forward Collin Murray-Boyles, listed as doubtful against Golden State due to an illness. If Barrett is not able to suit up, these Raptors injuries could be too much to overcome against a dangerous Warriors team.