Jakob Poeltl feels healthy after uncertain back recovery

Mar 21, 2026 12:13 PM

Raptors center Jakob Poeltl has returned to form after missing 33 games due to back issues, and while he still doesn’t know the exact cause, he’s relieved to have the problem behind him, according to Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca.

The 30-year-old has been highly productive in recent games, averaging 13.2 points, 8.7 rebounds, 2.3 assists, and 1.4 blocks while shooting over 70% from the field across his last nine appearances.

He logged a season-high 36 minutes in Sunday’s win over Detroit, finishing with 21 points, 18 rebounds, and five assists against All-Star Jalen Duren.

“I felt fine, honestly,” Poeltl said. “Every game’s a little bit different, like you have different energy and stuff. I felt good on Sunday. Felt fine afterwards.

“Obviously, after a big game, you feel your body aching a little bit, but I think that’s normal for everybody, so I wasn’t too worried.”

Poeltl also described the difficulty of dealing with an injury that didn’t come with a clear recovery timeline.

“I think the hardest part about it was that there wasn’t a steady timeline,” he said. “With most injuries, you kind of know how long it’s gonna take … But what the time was exactly in this scenario was a big question mark.

“Like, we almost made up some timelines … but, realistically, it wasn’t something that time was just gonna fix. So, I think that was the hardest part.”