Raptors: Top 5 point guards in franchise history
By Avishai Sol
No. 3: Jose Calderon
In the 2009 season, Calderon averaged 13 points, 9 assists, and 3 rebounds, shooting 50 percent from the field, 40 percent from 3, and an insane 98 percent from the free-throw line. I don’t care how good your aim is, that is a ridiculous number.
Calderon may have only missed 3 free throws that season, but his stats are not why he’s ranked above players with bigger names than himself. If our gripes with Andrea Bargnani and DeMar DeRozan were that they consistently underachieved in their roles as stars, Calderon was the exact opposite. He was an overachieving role player.
Calderon was the Raptors’ equivalent of Steve Kerr; a great shooter and steady contributor who knew never to try to do more than what he was capable of. To win in this league you have to have some adults on your team from a maturity point of view. There are All-Stars who are not adults, and Calderon was a model NBA adult. He knew what he was, and consistently gave you quality minutes.
The reason he doesn’t rank higher on this list is that his stretch with the Raptors did not result in much winning. Over the eight seasons Calderon played for the Raptors, the team never made it past the first round of the playoffs.
Calderon’s legacy could have been bolstered the way Kerr’s was by playing on a great team, but not everyone can play with Michael Jordan. Instead, Calderon will be remembered with reverence by the few who know what he brought to the Raptors.