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Toronto Raptors: Five best draft picks in team history

By Jason Mills

24 Jun 1998: A picture of Vince Carter (L) being traded to the Toronto Rapters and Antawn Jamison (R) being traded to the Golden State Warriors during the NBA Draft at the General Motors Palace in Vancouver, Canada. FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY
24 Jun 1998: A picture of Vince Carter (L) being traded to the Toronto Rapters and Antawn Jamison (R) being traded to the Golden State Warriors during the NBA Draft at the General Motors Palace in Vancouver, Canada. FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY /
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2. Shooting guard – Toronto Raptors select DeMar DeRozan

Toronto Raptors
TORONTO, ON -DeMar DeRozan (Photo by Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images) /

DeMar DeRozan was drafted in 2009 ninth overall by then Raptors General Manager Bryan Colangelo. Until the 2018 trade that sent DeRozan to the San Antonio Spurs, DeRozan formed one-half of a dynamic backcourt duo, with best friend Kyle Lowry,  a combination which was often mentioned as one of the best in the game.

DeRozan and Lowry were great in isolation basketball and were masters at drawing opponents into unnecessary contact leading to foul shots. DeMar DeRozan is on this list at number two because not only did he get better almost every year he was in Toronto, but because he was a leader on the Raptors who during his time appeared in five consecutive NBA Playoff tournaments.

The team also went to their first Eastern Conference Final with DeRozan as its top star. With 13,296 points, DeMar DeRozan remains the all-time top scorer in Toronto Raptors history, and he is third all-time in assists behind Kyle Lowry and Jose Calderon with 2,078. Unfortunately, he could not help the Raptors attain a championship as he was traded in 2018 for Kawhi Leonard, who helped the Raptors to claim their first NBA title in 2019.