“ALL HE DOES IS WIN”
K elvin Sampson couldn’t help but chuckle. His point guard of the last four years, Jamal Shead, had just checked into his first NBA preseason game and all of a minute later everyone watching had been introduced to what Sampson’s known since he first started recruiting Shead to the University of Houston in high school: Jamal Shead is a winning basketball player.
“As soon as Jamal got in, I just sat there and shook my head,” says Sampson, who’s coached the Cougars since 2014. “I said, ‘That’s Jamal.’ I saw that for four years. I saw it when he was 15. That’s what Jamal does: He’s going to help you win the game.”
First, there was a steal where Shead appeared to get caught on a screen and lose his man, only to then jump the passing lane. Next, he got in at the hands of a big man trying to collect a pass on the roll, coming up with another steal that he took coast-to-coast for a score. Message received about his screen navigation, the Wizards hit him with an illegal one the next time down, leading to another turnover. Finally, he drew a foul on an aggressive push-off from Bub Carrington, against whom he was holding a small grudge from a pre-draft workout that didn’t go Shead’s way.
That was all in the span of a few minutes of action, and it set the tone for the rest of Shead’s first pro preseason. In 76 minutes over five games, he grabbed five steals, had a hand in a few more, and drew six offensive fouls on opponents. If deflections were officially kept as a preseason stat, he’d be among the league leaders.
Shead closes out well. He helps in the paint. He dives for loose balls and leaps to save them on the baseline. He does so many “little things” that it feels big; he is so many places that he feels bigger, too, than his 6-foot-1, 200-pound listing. The No. 45 pick in this year’s draft, presumed to be headed for heavy G League time with Raptors 905, is pushing head coach Darko Rajakovic to at least consider slotting three point guards in his opening night rotation.
It is a surprise, only if you don’t know him.
“Jamal actually should have gone in the first round. There’s such an undervaluing of the things that he does well,” Sampson says. “Jamal doesn’t fit any of the measurables. He’s not six-five, he doesn’t have a seven-foot wingspan. But the two things that he has that cannot be measured is his brain and his heart, and the intangibles that he has. He’s going to get a steal. He’s gonna make an unbelievable effort play. He’s going to go get a key rebound. He’s going to block a shot. He’s going to get a loose ball. Where on the evaluation sheet does it say any of that? But if you’re a coach, you want Jamal.
“All he does is win.”
B efore Shead could win, he had to sit and watch.
A solid, high-three-star recruit out of high school, Shead committed to Houston early, well aware of who was ahead of him on the depth chart. In his 2020-21 freshman year, he joined a team that included three other future NBA players in Marcus Sasser, Dejon Jarreau, and Quentin Grimes, a trio of guards who, along with higher-rated wing recruit Tramon Mark, made up the entirety of the Cougars’ backcourt rotation.
His path to playing time wasn’t difficult, it was nonexistent. That was, at least, until a tune-up game against Our Lady of the Lake, a non-Division I opponent, in February. The game was on the schedule primarily to get young players more playing time and, coming off a bad loss to East Carolina a few days prior, Sampson wanted to send a message to his starters that other players would play hard if they wouldn’t.
Enter Shead, who’d played more than 10 minutes in a game just once in the six weeks prior. Against Our Lady, he played 36 in a 112-46 rout, narrowly missing a quadruple-double with 20 points, nine rebounds, 11 assists, and eight steals.
The game delivered Sampson’s intended effect — Houston only lost once the rest of the way before being defeated by Baylor in the national semifinal — but it was not the beginning of more opportunity for Shead, who went back to his spot as the team’s fifth or sixth guard in the team’s next game, against South Florida.
“The thing about Jamal was he always was blessed with a really awesome, big-picture, long-term view of everything. I never thought that he was a prisoner of any moment,” Houston lead assistant coach Kellen Sampson says. “I told our staff in the days after that South Florida game, ‘That kid’s our future captain.’ How many kids after a triple-double would have a pouty lip and clicking their teeth and so on and so forth, and would have made the moment about their adversity or their injustice? And he never did. How he handled that moment that gave us the confidence that this is the guy we can build around moving forward.”
The shift back to the third string found Shead on the scout team heading into the NCAA Tournament. The scout team is usually made up of non-rotation players and an assistant coach, whose task it is to prepare the starters for upcoming opponents. The coach tries to gameplan as that opponent might, while each player has to learn the plays and tendencies of a specific opposing player they’re assigned to scout. Houston asked Shead to play the role of a series of incredible guards, culminating in a meaningful assignment for the Final Four: Become Davion Mitchell.
“I was nice,” Shead says. “I made it hell for our starters. It was fun being Davion for the day, because, you know, he plays a lot like me, and I got a lot more freedom that day. I think I gave them a good look. And, you know, it’s surreal that it’s come full circle now, and I’m playing right beside him now.”
Mitchell won Naismith Defensive Player of the Year later that spring and was a third-team All-American, launching him to the top 10 in the NBA Draft. Similarly undersized and dogged, Shead had watched him closely over the years, seeing in Mitchell what he would need to do to become an all-world defender.
“Jamal was a better Davion Mitchell than Davion was in the game. And Davion played terrific against us, but Jamal terrorized our first team in practice that week,” Kellen Sampson says.
Shead returned for his sophomore season determined to build on the example of the guards he’d backed up, and the lessons he’d absorbed playing as Mitchell. While Sampson had a good idea of what Shead could become, he challenged him heading into the off-season, telling him his only path to getting on the court was to be the team’s best defender.
“I took that and I tried to run with it and, you know, go from there. And then it just became my identity,” Shead says.
A year outside the rotation had allowed Shead to develop an even keener eye for the game, too.
“I think it helped tremendously,” Kellen Sampson says. “But that was always Jamal’s gift. He’s the smartest player we’ve ever had here. His basketball IQ, and his ability to see it, read it, digest it, but then also comprehend it and execute it, has always been his gift. I think that’s even more so his gift than just his raw explosiveness and athleticism, which was obviously through the roof as well. But his ability to process and execute basketball, mentally, as fast as he plays, is his gift.”
Over the next two seasons, Shead twice led the NCAA in total games played, made an Elite 8 and a Sweet 16 in the NCAA Tournament, earned All-AAC honors (one second- and one third-team), and won AAC Defensive Player of the Year in 2023. When Houston moved to the Big 12 for his senior season, he collected every award that could be thrown at him: First-team All-Big 12, Big 12 All-Defensive Team, Big 12 Player of the Year, Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year, a consensus first-team All-American nod, and, just like Mitchell, Naismith Defensive Player of the Year.
“I think that’s how we both make a name for ourselves,” Mitchell says of his and Shead’s defensive tenactiy. “We were both like that in college, and that’s how we got in the league. That’s our strength, is play on the ball, so that’s what we’re going to do in this league. He’s super competitive. I mean, he has a dog mentality, how I had when I came in the league.”
The list of accolades may somehow still undersell his importance at Houston. Sampson and the Cougars developed a standout identity on the defensive end, one that Shead enabled and personified. He set the tone culturally, from a player who’d pick up teammates hours before school in high school to someone who’d pick up trash after a frustrated coach broke character and tipped a bin over after a frustrating buzzer-beating no-call.
And he just kept winning. Like in 2021-22, when two of his backcourt mates were injured at the same time and Shead played 199 minutes over a five-game stretch, one of them a massive double-overtime win against Wichita State in which he played all 50 minutes. Or in 2022-23, when he led the Cougars to a school record-tying 33 wins and a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. Or in 2023-24, when only a bad high-ankle sprain suffered midway through a Sweet 16 game kept Shead and the Cougars from another Elite 8 appearance.
While that ankle injury ended his collegiate career and threatened to alter his NBA draft outlook, there was no changing the legacy Shead built over four years.
“When you’re as established as we are, it’s hard to land on our Mount Rushmore,” Kellen Sampson says. “Jamal Shead, now, forever, he’s on the Mount Rushmore of Houston Cougars. And I think that he did it the hard way. Nothing was ever given to him. All he did was take an opportunity and maximize it. And if that same opportunity is bestowed on him in Toronto, I think Raptors fans are gonna love the end result.”
H ow Shead’s pre-draft workout with the Raptors went is a matter of perspective.
“My Raptors draft workout was terrible. I was out of shape,” Shead says, explaining that he was still ramping back up after time off due to the high-ankle sprain suffered in the NCAA Tournament.
“I disagree with him that he had a bad workout, because he was very, very competitive, and that’s something that I really admire about him, that he’s always competitive, and he always believes that he can do better,” Rajakovic says.
What Shead and his head coach can agree on, though, is that they hit it off in the film session after the on-court portion of the workout. Normally, after players participate in three-on-three (or, if you’re a top prospect, maybe one-on-one) workouts, they spend time, individually, with team coaches and front office staff dissecting film and just talking basketball. It’s a chance for the team to evaluate how a player sees and thinks the game, and get a sense of how they may adjust to NBA nuances. For the player’s part, they get to learn about a potential new coach and new system. What’s on the tape varies — sometimes the player’s college film, sometimes the team’s film from the year prior, sometimes just random NBA clips to see what the player can pick up without that introductory context — and while it’s not going to shoot a player way up or way down a board, it’s an important part of the process of evaluating their ability to learn and make the jump to the next level.
Shead watched film with Sampson almost every single day during his four years at Houston. They’d even mix it up with Tom Brady highlights to remind Shead that sometimes the simple pass is the best pass. Years of absorbing and studying allowed him to make a quick fan of Rajakovic.
“In that film session, Jamal showed extremely high basketball IQ,” Rajakovic says. “We were analyzing plays, offensively and defensively, and his capacity to recognize what was going on on the court and pick up on the details, it’s at the level of basketball coach. He really impressed me with that, and after that, we were able to connect really well and talk.”
“Some guys look but they never see. Some guys hear but they never listen,” Sampson says. “Jamal, he’s the best I’ve ever coached at [seeing and listening]. Jamal is a basketball junkie. When his career ends, I hope he makes enough money to retire and have a good life, but there’s something that tells me that kid’s going to be a hell of a coach.”
Even prior to the workout, it was film that put Shead high on Toronto’s board. As they scouted other top guard prospects during the process, film of Shead making their lives hell with his defence was a regular feature. So, too, was those other prospects coming out with losses, a Cougars team light on NBA-bound players turning in a 32-5 record overall in a conference loaded with talent.
The Raptors have had success prioritizing players from winning programs. Fred VanVleet’s name will be brought up a lot in Shead comparisons, not because they’re particularly similar players (they are not, at least offensively), but because both have some of the same limitations that can hurt draft stock but will blow you away when you actually, you know, watch the games they played in. Kyle Lowry, while not a Raptors draft pick, might be the example of how playing like a winner can manifest in NBA success. And prioritizing winning at the G League level should be considered a core part of what made the Raptors successful as a developmental program from 2016 to ’19. Of course, guys from winning programs don’t universally become good NBA players, but good NBA players generally know how to help you win.
(The Raptors also employ data in their draft process, and while Shead doesn’t have all of the measurables those models look for, he was a top-five college player by most catch-all metrics. Driving winning is an important input. Most publicly available models evaluated Shead as at least worth a mid-second round pick, despite the projection dings he may receive for size, shooting, and being a four-year senior.)
Still, Toronto wanted another look at Shead after his first workout, but his camp was initially unsure, wondering if some teams were bringing him in to test other top prospects against his defence, rather than out of pure interest. The Raptors made it clear their interest was legitimate and a second visit was arranged. But it was scrapped when Shead was hurt during another workout, leaving the Raptors with just the one shaky session.
The league’s first ever two-night draft made for an interesting wait for second-rounders. The Raptors held the No. 31 pick, the first pick of Night Two, and considered Shead in that spot, but ultimately went with Jonathan Mogbo. They still had the No. 45 pick, but Shead had to make it to them there. The San Antonio Spurs had shown interest before trading away the No. 35 pick, and a number of teams in the 40s were interested if Shead would agree to a two-way contract. Knowing that two-way offers would still be there if he went undrafted, Shead preferred to wait, betting that some team would want him enough to offer a proper NBA deal.
The Raptors did just that, selecting him 45th and signing him to a three-year deal with two years fully guaranteed, even going beyond the minimum amount in Year 1 of the deal.
S head didn’t have a particularly strong Las Vegas Summer League, his first time hitting the court in Raptors colours, but by the time camp opened in Montreal earlier this month, none of the team’s prospects had shown as much improvement July-to-October. Some of that is a return to health, the ankle injury now in the rearview. Some of it is getting comfortable in a new system and with the pro transition.
And some of it is young players pushing each other to be better. Fill a team with good defenders and, in theory, everyone will improve offensively, like practicing dunking in ankle weights and then taking them off at game-time.
“It’s a little different when Davion Mitchell’s not guarding you,” Shead says of his offensive comfort after a preseason game. “When you challenge each other, challenge your teammates every single day with no let up, everybody gets better. My first day guarding Immanuel Quickley was not easy but he made me better on the defensive end. And then I started to guard him, he got better on the offensive end. You know, ‘iron sharpens iron’ is a thing that everyone says but it’s true.”
“It’s serious,” rookie guard Ja’Kobe Walter told The Raptors Show on media day. “It gets like that. Like, ‘Off Night,’ that’s his [Mitchell’s] nickname for a reason, and we’ve got Jamal, too, so, like, imagine? Full court, it’s bad.”
It’s not a coincidence that Shead has emerged as a possible rotation player in a year where the Raptors are talking up a new defensive identity and new, stronger defensive edicts. Rajakovic opened the first day of camp with a full-court one-on-one drill to set the tone defensively, and Shead immediately stood out.
“We can all agree that great defence starts with how you play on the ball, how you start your defence from there. We want to apply more ball pressure, we want to be aggressive, we want to have active hands and everything starts there,” Rajakovic said on media day. Later in camp, he added, “Jamal is a player that plays with a lot of energy. He has an amazing motor. He was Defensive Player of the Year in college just last season, and he’s somebody who’s doing that, who’s constantly applying the pressure on the ball. He knows how to use his body to position himself the right way, not to get screened on pick-and-rolls or DHOs [dribble handoffs], and he’s just, like, relentless. He never stops. He continues fighting, and it allows us to create steals and opportunities for us to run in transition.”
Still, Shead’s rookie season could mirror his first two years at Houston. Rajakovic isn’t going to schedule an Our Lady of the Lake non-conference game in the middle of the season, but he has someone to turn to if the starters aren’t doing their part executing the new paradigm. And, as it was under Sampson, Shead’s aware that his best path to minutes is to be undeniable defensively. Even making the most of those opportunities, Shead could see ample time with Raptors 905. None of that is new to him, though, and he’s seen the fruits of patience and perseverance.
“I’ve just been trying to do whatever he’s asked of me. I know I got two really good guys in Quick and Davion, two established guys in front of me. And I just want to be what’s best for this team. Whatever this team needs,” he says. “You know, it’s a long season, and I’ll be ready whenever they ask. And one thing I’m about is winning. So, if I’m on the 905, I hope we can get another championship.”
Shead could use some work on his three-point shot, ideally getting to where defences don’t automatically go under screens against him, which would open up more lanes for passes or his intriguing floater package. There are always areas to improve, even defensively, and the Raptors have had their most success developmentally when not putting limits on what a player can become. Names like Jevon Carter and T.J. McConnell offer examples of how to last in the league with similar limitations, and VanVleet offers the longshot outcome, though none of those players is a perfect stylistic comparison.
For now, Shead’s role card will be smaller when he gets a call. On defence, pick up full court, live in the ballhandler’s jersey, and make life difficult. On offence, punch into gaps, spray out to shooters, and make smart passes to the centres. On both ends, make those winning plays that he became synonymous with over four years at Houston.
“He’s going to prove that he’s capable. He’s going to prove that mentally and competitively, he’s ready, and he’s capable of handling whatever role you give him,” Kellen Sampson says. “And look, if it’s to be the most enthusiastic, charismatic Energizer Bunny on the bench and in practice every day, he’s going to be capable. If it’s coming in and providing five-to-seven minutes of crazy juice, more than capable. If it’s a little bit more of a meaningful 18-, 22-minute role, Jamal’s shoulders are broad, and he’s ready, and he’s capable.
“One of the greatest parts of Jamal, there’s nobody that’s entering the NBA from this draft class that’s played in more big games than him, and there’s nobody who’s had more responsibility placed on their shoulders in those big games than him. He had to manage it, the failures, the adversity, but also then he learned how to manage the success. Jamal has already done it, and so I think he is uniquely prepared for whatever moment greets him in the NBA.”