Damon Stoudamire – 7th overall (1995)
The sixth-best prospect in a six-man draft, Damon Stoudamire thankfully slipped to seventh overall due to the Vancouver Grizzlies franchise-altering decision to take Bryant ‘Big Country’ Reeves over the eventual rookie of the year. The top five picks in this class were Joe Smith, Antonio McDeyess, Jerry Stackhouse, Rasheed Wallace, and Kevin Garnett.
Damon Stoudamire went on to win the rookie of the year award by averaging 19 points, 9.3 assists, 4 rebounds, and 1.7 steals on under 43-percent shooting. Dubbed Mighty Mouse due to his diminutive stature in NBA terms, Damon Stoudamire was the franchises first and only star during the inaugural season.
He would spend only two and a half seasons in Toronto before demanding a trade. During his time with the Raptors he averaged 19.6 points, 8.6 assists, 4.1 rebounds and 1.5 steals on 41-percent shooting. The shooting numbers are atrocious, but for a Raptors team devoid of any other stars, this was not an issue for the fanbase or the organization.
Damon Stoudamire wanted out and was dealt to the Portland Trailblazers. If you ask the casual fan what Toronto received for Damon most would say Kenny Anderson, a player who refused to report to the Raptors. However, the full trade was Damon Stoudamire, Carlos Rogers, and Walt Williams for former all-star Kenny Anderson, Alvin Williams, Gary Trent, and two first-round picks. Kenny Anderson was then traded along with Popeye Jones, and Zan Tabak for future NBA Finals MVP Chauncey Billups, Dee Brown, Roy Rogers, and John Thomas.
His numbers would fall sharply once he left the Raptors due to playing with other stars, and thus receiving fewer shots per game. He managed to average 8.2 assists during the season he was traded but saw his number tail off from there. He averaged 12.8 points, 3.5 rebounds and 5.7 assists on 40-percent shooting in his eight seasons with the Portland Trailblazers. He would never shoot above 43.6-percent in his career.
In Memphis, he was employed in more of a mentorship role in 118 games with them. He started most of the games he played but averaged just 25.3 minutes per game. Damon averaged just 8.4 points and 4.6 assists on 39-percent shooting in those 118 games. Damon took a young point guard by the name of Kyle Lowry under his wing in Memphis and is one of the players Kyle credits with helping propel his career. This was the reason Kyle wore his jersey during the Toronto Raptors NBA Championship parade.
The most significant player the Raptors passed on was Michael Finley who ended up going 21st overall to Phoenix. Damon was the right call at the time as he was sensational in his short time with the Raptors. In hindsight, Finley had the better career and ‘Mighty Mouse’ ended up asking for a trade before his first contract was over.
You can still find his name attached to numerous Toronto Raptors career leaderboards. He ranks first in minutes per game, fifth in assists, fourth in points per game, first in assists per game, second in steals per game, and third in assist percentage. Damon would be higher on this list if we just judged his production and impact as a member of the Toronto Raptors.