Raptors Announce Immanuel Quickley Injury News Before Game 1 Against Cavaliers
The No. 5 seed Toronto Raptors are set to face the No. 4 seed Cleveland Cavaliers in the first round of the 2026 NBA playoffs, a matchup that presents an immediate test for a team looking to make noise in the East. Toronto will lean heavily on its core, Scottie Barnes, Brandon Ingram, RJ Barrett, and Immanuel Quickley, to navigate what figures to be a competitive series.
Cleveland finished ninth in net rating this season, making this a challenging matchup right away, especially with Game 1 set on the road. However, the Raptors will be without one of their key pieces to start the series.
On Saturday, the team announced that Quickley will miss Game 1, dealing a notable blow to their backcourt (h/t Zulfi Sheikh of SportsNet).
The disappointing update comes days after head coach Darko Rajaković addressed his status.
"Same status like yesterday," Rajaković said on Thursday. "Today was a light day on the whole team. Watched some film, got a bunch of shots. We did not do too much today."
Darko on Immanuel Quickley's injury status:
— Omer Osman (@OmerOsman200) April 17, 2026
"Same status like yesterday. Today was a light day on the whole team. Watched some film, got a bunch of shots. We did not do too much today."
On Jakob Pöltl's health, and how he's finding his rhythm on the team:
"I think he's in a… pic.twitter.com/jYDcbDK9BT
Quickley has been a steady presence throughout the season. He averaged 16.4 points, 5.9 assists and 4.0 rebounds in 70 games, and provided consistent scoring and playmaking.
Without Quickley, Toronto may turn to rookie guard Ja'Kobe Walter to step into a larger role as they look to replace both his scoring and playmaking.
It is a significant adjustment, particularly against a Cavaliers team that has added one of the league's best scorers in James Harden since the regular-season meetings between the two sides.
The Raptors did sweep Cleveland in the regular season, but those games came before Harden joined the lineup, making this version of the Cavaliers a different challenge altogether. It is also worth noting that the Raptors were outscored by 171 points in 575 minutes vs. top-10 Net Rating teams without Quickley this season (h/t Mikey McNuggets of Ultimate Cleveland Sports Show).
Game 1 will be played at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, with tip-off scheduled for 1pm ET.
Related: Lakers Make Dalton Knecht Gesture Before Game 1 Against Rockets
Copyright 2026 Athlon Sports. All rights reserved.
This story was originally published April 18, 2026 at 9:14 AM.