The Toronto Raptors wing is in an odd position as a former No. 2 overall pick from Duke, a former Los Angeles Laker and a former NBA all-star.

A couple of disappointing seasons in New Orleans and some injuries — including a high-ankle sprain that limited him to just 18 games last season, and none since the Raptors acquired him at the trade deadline in February — have had him fall off the radar a little bit.

But he’s healthy now and sounds determined to remind those who might have forgotten that he’s a significant NBA player. He doesn’t jump and scream about it — Ingram’s default volume is a notch above whisper — but the words are unmistakable.

“I know people know my game a little bit,” Ingram said Saturday after a workout with Raptors veterans at a mini-camp the team is holding in conjunction with the NBA Summer League schedule. “But I’m going to show a little bit more, being the focal point of the offence. I get to show my playmaking skills, moving without the basketball and scoring without (starting with) the basketball in my hand. I get to show them I’ve been a three-point shooter most of my life. Just all aspects of my game. I get to show how much of a competitor I am.”

For the Raptors and their fans, it’s music to their ears. The only hope is that he can deliver.

Ingram’s talent lives in plain sight — the long-limbed six-foot-eight wing is on the short list of NBA players carrying averages of at least 23 points, 5.5 rebounds and 5.2 assists while connecting on 37.2 per cent of his nearly five three-point attempts per game over the past six seasons. But the soon-to-be 28-year-old has only managed to play 51 games per year over that span.

His durability is the primary risk the Raptors are absorbing in trading for him and signing him to a three-year contract extension worth $120 million.

But Ingram seems determined to make the bet pay off for all concerned.

He’s been working with the Raptors assistant coaches and training staff since the season ended, and his reward was finally being cleared for 5-on-5 play on Friday, nearly seven months since the original injury.

“(The recovery) was way different (than I expected),” Ingram said. “I never experienced that from an ankle injury. They always take two to three weeks, so it was a little bit different, it was way more swollen that usual and sometimes I didn’t know when I was going to be healthy, but I continued to go through the process, feel better every week and there was good communication from the training staff and coaches and everybody, they helped me out a lot through this process and I’m finally here.”

Although here is currently Las Vegas in July, Ingram is optimistic that there can be the post-season in April, which would be at the very high-end of even the most optimistic projections for a team that has won 25 and 30 games the past two seasons. Oddsmakers have pegged the over-under for the 2025-26 Raptors’ win total at 32.5.

Ingram is (metaphorically, of course) taking the over.

“We’re making the playoffs for sure,” he said. “I think we’re trying to build championship habits. What I saw in the second half of the season, they play hard. They play really, really hard on the (offensive) and defensive end.

“On the offensive end I always use the word ‘swag’ …  I think just having that on the floor, knowing who we are on the basketball floor, knowing our identity on the offensive end — they already found their identity on the defensive end — I can’t come in and mess that up, I’m going to be playing as hard as them. But we’ll be finding our identity on the offensive end, finding out what’s best.”

It starts with Ingram’s health, and for the moment, it’s in an excellent place.

“I feel good, my body feels good, my movement feels good, I’m ready to continue to build,” he said. “I don’t feel rusty, I’m well-conditioned. I could be better conditioned, but I’m in a good spot, especially for July.  (I’ll be) playing more 5-on-5, trying to get my timing down, my rhythm, doing more explosive moves, moves I haven’t done for a long time.

“… With this ankle injury, I haven’t been able to have any physical contact out on the basketball floor, but just hearing how (Raptors head coach Darko Rajakovic) coaches and how his assistants move, to be out on the floor and do the things they’re asking me to do, it’s much better.”

It’s July in Las Vegas — that can’t be emphasized enough —  but a better feeling, better moving Ingram with something to prove is about as good as it can get for the Raptors, at least until October comes around.