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Toronto Raptors: A model NBA franchise in racial equality

By Jason Mills

LAKE BUENA VISTA, FLORIDA - SEPTEMBER 11: Nick Nurse of the Toronto Raptors reacts with Serge Ibaka #9 of the Toronto Raptors and Fred VanVleet #23 of the Toronto Raptors during the first quarter in Game Seven of the Eastern Conference Second Round during the 2020 NBA Playoffs at AdventHealth Arena at the ESPN Wide World Of Sports Complex on September 11, 2020 in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
LAKE BUENA VISTA, FLORIDA - SEPTEMBER 11: Nick Nurse of the Toronto Raptors reacts with Serge Ibaka #9 of the Toronto Raptors and Fred VanVleet #23 of the Toronto Raptors during the first quarter in Game Seven of the Eastern Conference Second Round during the 2020 NBA Playoffs at AdventHealth Arena at the ESPN Wide World Of Sports Complex on September 11, 2020 in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images) /
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Executive/managerial hirings

Toronto Raptors
LAKE BUENA VISTA, FLORIDA – Masai Ujiri (Photo by Kim Klement-Pool/Getty Images) /

At the managerial/executive level of running a basketball team, the Toronto Raptors have historically done a good job providing black people opportunities. It begins with the first-ever general manager, in 1995, employed by the team in one Isiah Thomas, a former great point guard associated with the Detroit Pistons.

Under Isiah Thomas, the Toronto Raptors drafted exciting and highly talented players like Damon Stoudemire, Marcus Camby, and Tracy McGrady. After Isiah Thomas, the Raptors have been managed by Wayne Embry, and he remains a long-time senior advisor for the Raptors. Embry, like Thomas, is a former player from the late 1950’s-1969.

The current seven-year run in playoff competition has been built mostly by Masai Ujiri, the president of basketball operations in Toronto.  Ujiri turned the Toronto Raptors into an NBA Champion last year without a lottery pick, an expected franchise player (Kawhi Leonard was not a lottery pick), on the roster.

However, there are currently just seven black general managers in the league as for the NBA itself.  They are Elton Brand (Philadelphia), Kolby Altman (Cleveland), James Jones(Phoenix), and Scott Perry (New York), Troy Weaver (Detroit), Trajan Langdon (New Orleans), and Calvin Booth (Denver). In an article by Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated, he quoted a black NBA executive anonymously who stated:

“It’s clear there is underlying hypocrisy telling us the NBA is diverse, but when an opportunity comes, the process isn’t; all we want is a chance. As a black man, all we want is a fair opportunity to show we are just as qualified.”

The NBA had 108 players representing 38 international countries, so it is fair to say the league has a diverse makeup in the player ranks. However, that diversity has yet to be fully embraced at either the coaching or management level. Once again, the league could take a cue from the Toronto Raptors.

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