5 strangest single-game Raptors performances
By Brian Boake
![Chicago Bulls' Luol Deng is fouled by Toronto Raptors' Rafael Araujo during the first quarter. The Bulls defeated the Raptors 127-106, at the United Center in Chicago, Illlinois, Wednesday, April 19, 2006. (Photo by Nuccio DiNuzzo/Chicago Tribune/MCT via Getty Images) Chicago Bulls' Luol Deng is fouled by Toronto Raptors' Rafael Araujo during the first quarter. The Bulls defeated the Raptors 127-106, at the United Center in Chicago, Illlinois, Wednesday, April 19, 2006. (Photo by Nuccio DiNuzzo/Chicago Tribune/MCT via Getty Images)](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/shape/cover/sport/bb41a9befd8527c52c552e4ae763f53179a8590667fbb4fc356d0efb96048a05.jpg)
Dateline: November 24, 2010
In a 106-90 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers, Reggie Evans pulled down 22 rebounds. That’s not the Raptors record; Bismack Biyombo pulled down 25 in a recent playoff game against Indiana.
I have a soft spot for Reggie, and wish he’d been able to stay in Toronto longer than 58 games. He was the Raptors version of Dennis Rodman – a pure rebounder with little capability to effect other elements of the game.
Reggie was an up-from-the-bottom player and human being. He survived youthful poverty, only to go undrafted after playing at Iowa. Undaunted, Reggie caught on with the Seattle Supersonics, beginning a 12-year NBA career. He left the game after the 2014-15 season with the unusual career mark of 7.1 rebounds and 4.1 points per game.
He was small for a dominating rebounder at 6’8″, but used timing, positioning and his muscular 245-pound frame to make his presence felt under the rim.
The closest equivalent today is another banger, Montrezl Harrell of the Los Angeles Clippers. Harrell can hurt you in other ways than rebounding, though, and is a player to watch.
Writing about Raptors short-timers puts me in mind of another…