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Toronto Raptors sign Jamison Battle following strong start to NBA Summer League

IMG_7408by:Andy Backstrom•07/16/24•

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Jamison Battle by Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK
Ohio State wing Jamison Battle tries to get the crowd involved during an NIT quarterfinal loss to Georgia on March 26. (Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK)

COLUMBUS — The Toronto Raptors have signed former Ohio State standout Jamison Battle.

The financial terms of the contract were not officially disclosed Tuesday night, but, according to Sportsnet’s Blake Murphy, the Raptors inked Battle to an Exhibit 10 deal. An Exhibit 10 contract is a one-year, minimum salary agreement that’s not guaranteed but can include a bonus that’s rewarded if a player is waived and spends at least 60 days with the team’s G League affiliate.

Battle’s step forward in his pro journey comes after a strong two-game start to NBA Summer League play.

So far in Las Vegas, Battle is shooting 8-of-12, or 66.7%, from the field and 5-of-8, or 62.5%, from deep.

Battle played only 16 minutes Sunday against the Denver Nuggets, but he logged a team-best plus-minus of +16. He was one of only three Toronto Raptors players in double figures, finishing with 11 points on 4-of-6 shooting. Battle hit 3-of-5 long-range attempts, helping the Raptors outlast the Nuggets. He chipped in a rebound and assist along the way, too.

He turned in a similar stat line in his Summer League debut the day before. In a 94-69 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder, Battle piled up 12 points in 15 minutes. He knocked down 4-of-6 shots, including 2-of-3 from 3-point land, and drilled both of his free throw attempts. When all was said and done, he was +7 on the night.

Battle shattered his career-high 3-point shooting percentage during his lone season at Ohio State. The 6-foot-7 forward converted 43.3% of his attempts from beyond the arc in 2023-24, the ninth-best clip of qualifying 3-point shooters last season.

He made five or more triples in six games as a Buckeyes starter, at one point stringing together four such performances in a row, tying Jon Diebler’s record for the most consecutive outings with five-plus 3-pointers in program history.

Before transferring and using his fifth and final season of eligibility at Ohio State, Battle spent two seasons at George Washington and two seasons at Minnesota. He made the A-10 All-Rookie Team at GW and starred as an All-Big Ten honorable mention for Minnesota in 2021-22, averaging 17.5 points and 6.3 rebounds per game while shooting 36.6% from downtown.

But injuries set him back in 2022-23, and he then hit the portal looking for his first winning season of his college career and, of course, an elusive NCAA Tournament appearance.

He reached one of those milestones at Ohio State, helping the Buckeyes ultimately reach 22 wins after a late surge under interim-turned-full-time head coach Jake Diebler.

Battle was a longshot to hear his name called in this year’s NBA Draft, but his prolific shooting at Ohio State earned him an NBA Summer League opportunity with the Toronto Raptors, and now the Robbinsdale, Minnesota, native has turned that opportunity into an initial contract with the organization.

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