The franchise’s first-ever selection with the seventh overall pick in the 1995 NBA Draft, Damon Stoudamire made a huge impact in his two-and-a-half seasons with Toronto.
The player nicknamed “Mighty Mouse” averaged 19.6 points and 8.8 assists his first season, winning NBA Rookie of the Year over an impressive draft class that included Jerry Stackhouse and Kevin Garnett. For an expansion franchise that experienced little to no success early-on, Stoudamire was the lone bright spot.
He continued to produce while in Toronto and eventually was moved in a trade deadline deal that sent him to the Portland Trail Blazers, along with Walt Williams, for Kenny Anderson, Alvin Williams and two future first-round picks.
Stoudamire’s numbers dipped slightly while playing for the Trail Blazers, a trade-off he was happy to make while playing for one of the best teams in the Western Conference at the time.
At the end of his career, Stoudamire played 13 seasons in the league, averaging more than 13 points and six assists over that span.