Pascal Siakam leveled up and nobody seems to have noticed

Patience.

That’s the defining word of Pascal Siakam’s first eight games, opening in 2022-23. Choose your preferred synonym if you must. Serenity works too.

In any case, he’s built on his All-NBA form from last season to further bolster his superstar status, particularly as an offensive center. The defense seem increasingly stressed and concerned about putting the focus on stopping him.

His talented Toronto Raptor teammates are sometimes treated as afterthoughts in the mission to slow him down. Guys like Scottie Barnes, Fred VanVleet, Gary Trent Jr., and OG Anunoboy—a quartet of top 100 players or better—jump into profitable opportunities due to Siakam’s domineering aura. His offensive load is mammoth. Everyone else has it easier and he helps them capitalize on it.

In eight games, the 28-year-old winger averages 25.6 points, 9.6 rebounds and 7.9 assists.

• Its usage rate is 34 percent (100th percentile among the bigs, per Cleaning The Glass)
• His assist rate is 35.8 percent (100th percentile)
• His turnover rate is 9.9 percent (61st percentile)

These are all career highs. Even the per-game stats are the highlights of his career on a per-ownership basis. Toronto gives him more responsibilities and his response is to boost their confidence by moving back up the ranks.

Siakam previously had a career-best usage rate of 27.9 percent in 2019-20, the year he earned his first All-Star spot. It’s been floating there ever since—until this year, when Toronto decided to assess the full scope of its creation efforts. According to NBA.com, only seven players average more touches per game than he does.

As a result of the Raptors’ unwavering faith in their Superstar, opponents are sending him more and more waves of help, particularly on his post and open touches, and are doing so with haste. In response to the increased pressure, its processing has never been sharper. He will hold the ball one shot longer to pull defenders fully into his orbit without putting himself in a precarious position. He will take an extra step, forcing the defenders to choose between helping him or recovering to their task. His mid-range gravity is immense, and he excels at scanning the ground from a live dribble.

Rather than sticking to their basic responsibilities, defenders focus on spotting a counter for his specific exploits, paving the way for his game to thrive. You give up common sense against him. Its size distorts their defensive decision-making into harmful actions.

According to Synergy, his points per possession on pick-and-rolls, isolation and post-ups are in the 89th percentile or better when defense commits, all significant jumps from 2021-22. He just isn’t nervous, no matter how many eyeballs, limbs and bodies are determined to frustrate him. The timing of its series of varied reads is flawless.

Siakam’s upward trend in passing has been matched with the scoring. He is in the midst of his most prolific campaign of collecting and creating buckets. Sixty-seven percent of his marks are unassisted, the most glaring rate of his seven-year career. The smorgasbord of ratings is on display. He delivers at the post office as a driver and pull-up sniper, even splashing home a few off-screen triples.

Anecdotally, whether receiving a screen or putting it up, it seems Toronto is planning more inconsistencies for him. So many teams in the regular season are going to give up their advantage on switches, and the Raptors are taking advantage of that apathy.

The right archetype to constrain him has yet to be unearthed this season, though he’s already faced a diverse array of defenders. Against bigs, his slippery grip and pop fuel his swings. If they lose, he buries open jumpers. In Toronto’s 119-109 win over Philadelphia last week, PJ Tucker attempted the latter tactic and Siakam lit it. When smaller guys try to push his grip, he uses his size, power, and distance advantage to throw them off and shoot over the top with ease.

His intermediate touch in motion, through contact and from unconventional angles is elite. It maneuvers comfortably through tight spaces like few others of its size. The NBA’s leading initiates thrive in tight windows, and Siakam is no different. Most just aren’t 6-foot-8 with a 7-foot-3 wingspan.

Physicality is his ally. He loves to use his elbows, hips and shoulders to apply subtle contact for minor separation within the arch. When defenders try to use faceoff ball and rattle it, he calmly endures it en route to shots he’s attempted countless times. He evaluates defenders and chooses from his set of creation paths to strike.

Siakam’s intersection of size, speed, flexibility, functional grip, balance and physicality make him a distinctive cover. Very conscious of his novel existence, he’s looking a little quicker and more physical this year. His .412 free throw rate is by far a career high (.320 in 2018-19).

The emphasis on Mismatch hunting no doubt helps, but Siakam is also extremely difficult to stop from visiting his desired locations, and so far it has proven that. When he reaches them and is greeted by newfound defensiveness, he is unfazed and methodical. His means of compromising the opposition are far-reaching.

All he’s showing in two weeks is that of a superstar ready to live up to any expectations that come with an outstanding offensive focus. As a goalscorer, foul puller, and facilitator, the way he withers armored defenses and reveals their breakdowns is that of a man rising to the highest level of creators. Glimpses were often seen last season, but they weren’t lined up quite as regularly as this year. These flashes appear to be an outdated relic, replaced with today’s consistency.

Siakam’s basketball journey is defined by a relentless, purposeful momentum. Now that he’s here, patience is the leitmotif of his recent development. Spearheading the 5-3 Raptors and their third-place offense, he plays better than ever with patience.