Coming into last season, Poeltl has started 46 games over four NBA seasons. The big center surpassed that number during the 2020-21 campaign, making 51 starts among the 69 games in which he played. Not coincidentally, Poeltl averaged a career-high 26.7 minutes per contest. His per-game averages of 8.6 points, 7.9 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.8 blocks were also all career-best marks. Poeltl ranked sixth in the league in swats per game, and he tied a single-game career high with five blocks twice during the campaign. The Austrian-born big man was very efficient from the field, making 61.6 percent of his field-goal tries. He tallied 15 double-doubles during the season, surpassing the total he tabulated in his first four seasons combined. In arguably his finest performance of the campaign, Poeltl tied a career high with 20 points and nabbed a career-best 16 boards against Chicago on March 17. During his most impressive stretch of the season, he racked up four straight double-doubles and averaged 14.3 points, 12.0 boards, 2.3 assists, 2.0 blocks and 1.3 steals from March 29 through April 3. In San Antonio's play in game versus Memphis on May 19, Poeltl finished with 10 points, 10 rebounds and five blocked shots.

Poeltl reprised his role as a key reserve for the Spurs in 2019-20, making 66 appearances (18 starts) in the pandemic-shortened campaign. He averaged 5.6 points, 5.7 rebounds and 1.4 blocks in 17.7 minutes per game while shooting a remarkable 62.4 percent from the field -- his third straight season with a field-goal percentage north of 60. On Dec. 3, the 7-foot-1 big man grabbed a career-high 15 rebounds and blocked a season-high five shots during a close home win over the Rockets. On Jan. 27, the Austrian center racked up 16 points, 13 rebounds and three blocked shots against Chicago. That was one of four double-doubles he collected on the season. A knee injury forced Poeltl to miss San Antonio's last five games before the season was suspended on Mar. 11, but he was able to return for seeding play in the Orlando bubble. Poeltl went on to produce his biggest game of the season in the bubble, recording a season-high 19 points along with 10 rebounds and three blocks against Utah on Aug. 7. That opened a streak of three consecutive games with double-digit rebounds, including another double-double Aug. 11 against Houston in which Poeltl collected 14 points and 12 boards.

You may have heard that Kawhi Leonard was traded to Toronto prior to the 2018-19 season. DeMar DeRozan was the big name that went the other way, but Poeltl was also dealt from the Raptors to the Spurs. Poeltl was reliable for San Antonio, playing in 77 games. He started 24 of them, averaging 16.5 minutes per game overall. Poeltl put up 5.5 points per contest. He posted a season-high 20 points on 9-of-11 shooting against Utah on Dec. 4. He was extremely efficient as a shooter, as the Austrian-born center made 64.5 percent of his field goals. Poeltl was also the rare player who nearly averaged more rebounds than points, as he notched 5.3 boards per contest. In the playoffs, Poeltl was given a starting role and his playing time jumped to 25.3 minutes per game. He averaged 7.3 points and 7.7 boards per contest in seven postseason outings.

Poeltl appeared in all 82 games for the Toronto Raptors during the 2017-2018 season, his second with the club. Poeltl averaged career highs across the board. Playing 18.6 minutes per contest, the 7-foot-1 center managed 6.9 points and 4.8 rebounds per tilt. Poeltl shot an impressive 65.9 percent from the floor, which would have led the NBA had he qualified. Poeltl registered four double-doubles during the regular season. He scored a career-best 18 points against Indiana on Dec. 1, a game where he made his eight field goal attempts. He snatched a career-high 14 rebounds at Golden State on Oct. 25. Poeltl appeared in nine playoff games for the Raptors. The big man averaged 5.4 points and 4.0 rebounds per playoff battle. His best playoff performance came in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference First Round versus the Washington Wizards. Poeltl played 24 minutes, accumulating 10 points, seven rebounds, one assist and one steal.

Poeltl was selected by the Raptors with the ninth overall pick in the 2016 NBA Draft. He became the first Austrian-born player to play in an NBA game when he made his debut against Detroit on Oct. 26. During his rookie campaign, Poeltl appeared in 54 games with Toronto, making four starts and averaging 11.6 minutes per contest. The big man posted per-game averages of 3.1 points, 3.1 rebounds and 0.4 blocked shots in his first season. He shot an outstanding 58.3 percent from the field while making 54.4 percent of his free-throw attempts. Poeltl tallied double-digit points three times during the campaign, beginning with a 12-point, seven-rebound performance in a win over Indiana on March 19. He swatted two shots in that game, one of five times during the regular season that he finished with two blocks. Poeltl also played in two games for Raptors 905 of the D-League, averaging 16.0 points, 13.0 rebounds and 3.0 blocks per contest. In the postseason, Poeltl appeared in six games with Toronto, averaging 4.4 minutes per contest. He posted per-game playoff averages of 1.7 points and 2.0 rebounds.