The Toronto Raptors had a 2019 to remember and celebrate. We look back at the top ten moments that defined the year for the team.
The year is coming to an end and the Toronto Raptors will be sad to see their calendars turn over. 2019 has been the franchise’s best year for many reasons. And we here at Raptors Rapture have had a tremendous time documenting it all.
Choosing and ranking just ten moments wasn’t an easy task. Many of this site’s contributors debated the list to help ensure we got it right.
10. Masai Didn’t Leave
Following the Raptors’ magical playoff run, the fanbase was stunned to read about rumors that the Washington Wizards were in the market to poach the team’s president, Masai Ujiri. It was leaked that their owner, Ted Leonsis, was willing to pay $40 million for six years and that he would seek the Raptors permission to speak with Ujiri.
The Wizards would eventually respond that there was no truth to the rumors, but panic around keeping Ujiri never dissipated in the 6ix. Toronto fans would continue to play the role of over-protective jealous-partner when the New York Knicks were brought into the conversation.
Ujiri was recently linked to the Knicks with some in the organization referring to him as a franchise “savior.”
This time it was MLSE chairman and part-owner, Larry Tanenbaum, who quelled fans angst. Tenenbaum told the Toronto Sun,
"“We haven’t talked (about an extension) at this point in time, but if you ask him, his intentions are pretty clear.” Tanenbaum continued to explain why Ujiri is here to stay. “Masai has a contract that goes for another two years — this season and next season.”"
His contract expires following the 2020-21 season. But for now, it’s time to breathe a collective sigh of relief. It appears the architect of the Raptors is not going anywhere for quite a while.
9. Nurse Finds His Groove
The world finally got to know the quirky coach who does press conferences with a monogrammed ‘nn’ cap. Prior to being named the head coach of the Raptors in the summer of 2018, Nurse was an assistant on Dwane Casey’s staff. When Ujiri called for a culture change, it meant that Casey was out and Nurse was in.
After a strong season, it was in the playoffs that Nurse showed off his coaching chops. Bringing his guitar along for the ride, he was very strategic in his play-calling and decision-making. This may have been most evident by his ability to out coach the Milwaukee Bucks veteran, Mike Budenholzer.
In the finals, the NBA lauded Nurses for his defensive alignments. There was significant attention paid to the box-and-one defense the team played. Nurse knew that the key to victory was shutting down the two-time MVP, Stephen Curry. The choice made Nurse look like a genius in just his first year as a head role in the NBA.
Nurse has continued his strong play calling, taking advantage of his team’s strengths this season. There may be no better example of this than the Raptors 30-point comeback win against the Dallas Mavericks on December 22.
8. Circumventing the GoDaddy Curse
The longtime curse that has plagued a number of Raptors over the years has finally ended this year.
Some of the best commercials on television were produced for GoDaddy. The company was particularly interested in featuring Toronto ballers in their Canadian ads. That is why they connected with the big Lithuanian center, Jonas Valanciunas. He had a campaign called Itty Bitty Ballers, where he sold miniature figures that were modeled after himself.
This was the start of a curse that until recently hadn’t been broken.
After he appeared in his commercial, JV’s on-court play had a significant dropoff. But it wasn’t just Valanciunas who was a victim of the curse. After Patrick Patterson tweeted about his involvement with the campaign, his production took a nosedive. The same is true about Lucas Nogueira, who appeared with Patterson and Valanciunas in a followup commercial.
Norman Powell suffered the same fate after he displayed his piano skills for GoDaddy. During the 2018 season when the ad ran, Powell was unable to match his production from the previous season. His 2016-2017 season statistics including playoffs, were 8.7 points, 2.3 rebounds, 1.1 assists, 0.7 steals, 0.2 blocks, and 1.0 turnover per game in an average of 18.5 minutes of action. Once the GoDaddy team got their hooks in him, Powell’s numbers dropped in 2017-2018 to 14.9 minutes, 5.2 points, 1.6 rebounds, 1.2 assists, 0.4 steals, 0.1 blocks, and 0.9 turnovers.
CJ Miles was the next victim of the curse with his outstanding commercial, CJ’s PJs. Prior to associating with GoDaddy, Miles was a lights-out perimeter shooter. Once he started peddling his evening wear, it appeared as though Miles had completely lost his stroke.
In 2019, the curse was broken. Instead of taking players from the active roster, GoDaddy has cast a former one, Muggsy Bogues. He played part of two seasons at the end of his career with the Raptors. He was chosen to star in an ad for the internet registrar because of his link to the team and philanthropic nature.
GoDaddy has explained that:
"“Since retiring, Muggsy has continued to assist thousands of children through non-profit programs that focus on student athletics, leadership development, character building, mentoring and team building.”"
Thanks to a campaign called A Raptor Tale, Bogues ensures that the current roster remains curse free. Since Bogues has no current affiliation to the club, the Raptors don’t need to fear seeing one of their stars regress.
7. Chris Boucher’s Development
In 2017-18, Chris Boucher was a member of the Golden State Warriors. When the Warriors waived him, the Raptors were happy that they did. The 6’10” forward was scooped up by the Raps and given a place to play in the NBA G League with the Raptors 905.
Boucher thrived in the minors and made the best out of his opportunity. This past summer, Boucher was awarded some significant hardware for his play. He won the NBA G League Most Valuable Player and Defensive Player of the Year awards, becoming the first player to win both awards.
Boucher began this NBA season as a garbage time specialist at the end of the bench for Nurse. When players ahead of him in the rotation went down with injuries, Boucher would once again take advantage of his opportunity. Boucher began to shine.
Prior to the injuries to Serge Ibaka and Kyle Lowry, Boucher was averaging just 4.6 minutes per game. Now, Nurse trusts him with far more. In Boucher’s last 20 games, he averaged 6.9 points, 4.7 rebounds, 0.5 assists, 0.4 steals, and 0.7 blocks in 13.7 minutes per game.
For the only Canadian Raptor in last season’s playoffs, it’s been a pleasure to see Boucher take strides in developing his game in 2019.
6. The Birth of the OVO Athletic Centre
The BioSteel Centre was opened on the Exhibition Place grounds in 2016. In 2019, it was given a facelift and a new name.
In March of this year, Ujiri flew to Manchester, England to see Drake. While there, he took in one of his concerts and presented him with a ceremonial key to the Raptors training facility. That is because the Grammy award-winning rapper partnered with the Raptors in order to gain the naming rights to the gym.
Thanks to that partnership, the facility was renamed, the OVO Athletic Centre. The signage on the front of the building now bears the new name and owl logo associated with Drake’s brand. That same logo is adorned on the top left of the Raptors practice jerseys.
"“Drake and OVO are an important part of our city’s landscape, our team’s identity,” Ujiri said when speaking about the facility’s new name. “With each step of our partnership over the last five and a half years, we have worked together to build a winning basketball program in Toronto and deliver for our fans and our community. This new naming rights deal for our training facility is a perfect example of the strength of this partnership and the innovative opportunities it can generate.”"
This small act has reinforced the connection between the internationally famous artist and Toronto’s basketball club. Drake, who was given the role of “global ambassador” in 2013, can often be seen courtside cheering on the team. He even has his own stall in the Raptors locker room with a nameplate that reads “the boy”.
Drake’s connection with the Raptors was further displayed this year as he hosted multiple watch parties in Jurassic Park. He was there for road games during the most recent playoffs run. The naming of the OVO Athletic Centre cements the relationship between the basketball team and the rapper.
5. Marc Gasol trade
Arguably, the biggest trade that took place during the 2018-2019 season was the one that sent the Raptors the longtime center for the Memphis Grizzlies, Marc Gasol. It was a move that gave Toronto a player who they could depend upon when they needed rim protection and a big stop.
In order to get the Big Burrito, Ujiri and Bobby Webster had to give up a lot. On Feb 8, 2019, they sent Memphis a package of fan favourite players and their 2024 second-round pick.
It wasn’t easy to say goodbye to Delon Wright or Valanciunas after they had spent so much time representing themselves well in Toronto, but fans eventually realized just how valuable Gasol was to the organization.
Not only was Gasol’s defense an undeniable upgrade over JV’s, but he helped make everyone around him better. The offense developed better flow thanks to Gasol’s passing ability and on-court vision.
Gasol was invaluable to the Raptors during their postseason push. He shut down one of the best big men in the league, Joel Embiid. When Toronto met the Philadelphia 76ers in the second round, Gasol tortured Embiid, making every night a difficult one and eventually reducing the opposing center to tears. Without Gaol’s presence, the Raptors would likely have not been as successful as they were.
4. Kawhi Leonard Departs
Kawhi Leonard left his mark on the Raptors and the city as a whole. He proved he was all-time great with his incredible play in the playoffs. That’s why it was such a big moment for all the wrong reasons when Leonard announced he would be joining the Los Angeles Clippers.
The summer of 2019 was dominated by Kawhi Watch. The media and fans documented every move that the star made and dissected it in an attempt to guess what decision Leonard would make about his basketball future.
CP24, the 24 hour Toronto news outlet, even provided real-time tracking of the plane route that brought Leonard into the Big Smoke. Viewers watched from a distance as passengers debarked the plane and immediately entered a black SUV. Naturally, thanks to the frenzy, the coverage then followed the vehicle by helicopter while the channel’s reporters shared updates on Leonard’s status.
Raptors fans did everything they could to keep Leonard with the organization including offering him a long list of freebies if he stayed with the Raps. Should Leonard have decided to stay in Toronto, he would have been treated like royalty. If he picked his movements carefully, he wouldn’t have had to pay for anything in the city, ever.
Unfortunately, Leonard ultimately wanted to return home and the Raptors were left without the best player to ever wear the jersey. While the team has been excellent this season, there’s no doubt that it would have been elite if it still had the superstar in the lineup.
3. The Shot
With the score even and just 4.2 seconds remaining in the seventh and deciding game of the Eastern Conference semifinals between the Raptors and 76ers, Leonard let go of the biggest shot in franchise history. The ball floated to the rim clanking off it and for an instant appeared to be headed in the wrong direction, away from the cylinder. That would have sent the game to overtime, but that’s not what was in store for the Raptors that night.
Instead, with Leonard doing a deep squat and Embiid leaning over him watching, the ball kissed the rim four times then fell through the hoop and sent the Scotiabank Arena, the team, and Raptors fans everywhere into a frenzy.
By sinking his shot, the Raptors secured a second-round victory. The play itself would be immortalized in paintings, posters, and discussed among other great moments such as Michael Jordan‘s 1989 buzzer-beater against the Cleveland Cavaliers, previously dubbed “The Shot”. The biggest difference between the two incredible scenes was that Jordan’s dagger didn’t eventually lead to a title.
In Toronto, this play supersedes Bautista’s bat flip, George Chuvalo’s 15 rounds with Mohammed Ali at Maple Leafs Gardens, Donovan Bailey’s record-breaking run in the 1996 Olympics, and Geroge Armstrong’s empty-net goal in 1967 to secure the Toronto Maple Leafs final Stanley Cup victory.
With Embiid contesting, Leonard’s trigger and reaction were priceless. Thanks to the heavy implications of a made field goal and the drama of the slow-pace at which the ball was sunk, this should stand as one of the biggest plays in NBA history.
2. The Ascent of Pascal Siakam
One of the most interesting stories in basketball belongs to the Raptors power forward, Pascal Siakam. It’s a tale of improbability. The protagonist, as a teenage boy in a Bafia, Cameroon seminary school, only occasionally dribbled a basketball and never dreamed that it would one day be his vocation.
The plan from the father and teacher of the young Cameroonian was for him to one day become a priest. Siakam had other plans. Though he didn’t know it at the time, basketball was going to become a big part of his life. Even when he joined his friends in 2011 to participate in Luc Mbah a Moute‘s basketball camp, Siakam was more interested in soccer. He was 17 at the time.
Siakam returned to one of Mbah a Moute’s free camps the following year. He turned heads that time and was selected to participate in Ujiri’s initiative, Basketball Without Borders. Siakam parlayed that experience into playing college basketball in the United States, just like his three brothers before him had done.
Siakam began his American schooling with a scholarship at God’s Academy in Lewisville, Texas, and then transferred with a scholarship to New Mexico State the following year. Despite having only begun playing organized ball since age 18, Siakam was named WAC Freshman of the Year in New Mexico. He followed that up by earning the WAC Player of the Year honors the following season.
Once again, Siakam was turning heads. He had played well enough to be a first-round pick of the Toronto Raptors, going 27th in the 2016 draft. When he was assigned to the Raptors 905 in the D-League, he made the best of it by winning a title and being named the Finals MVP.
The world was only starting to learn about Siakam. He showed his potential when he first joined the Raptors. In 2019, we witnessed what Ujiri always thought was possible; Siakam had transformed into a star. This was recognized by the NBA, who named the forward the league’s Most Improved Player.
That wasn’t even the ceiling for Siakam. This season, while still in the same calendar year, Siakam has been included in the NBA’s MVP conversation. While his injury won’t help him earn the award, it’s been an incredible year for the man who has turned himself into a legitimate superstar.
1. The Championship
There is no doubt about the top slot for the Raptor’s 2019. There was a long road for the team with a giant payoff. The team did something he had never done despite being in the league since 1995 when they played their home games at the SkyDome. The Raptors not only made it to the NBA Finals, but they took care of business in the series and won the league championship.
The Raptors managed to bring a title to Toronto for the first time in their history and the fans responded. There may not have been or ever will be a scene as insane as the Raptors championship parade and it had nothing to do with how lubricated Gasol had gotten. The downtown core was packed with people who all wanted to catch a glimpse of the 2019 champs. The players’ buses took hours to even get started because of all the fans who wanted to join in the celebration.
The Raptors earned every victory and with them, also found a spot in the hearts of Canadians from coast to coast. This was not just a team’s title, but a nation’s. Canada had basketball fever with people watching Raptors games for the first time. The Raptors’ success was on everyone’s minds in the spring.
The ‘Chip was enormous. It will forever be marked in the record books and will surely have an impact on the sport in the country for decades.
What are some of your favorite moments of the year? Let us know in the comments below.