Goodbye Norman Powell. Sometimes when a player leaves, the fanbase can tell right away that they’re going to miss him. DeMar DeRozan is a prime example, but it even happens with non-all-stars. Serge Ibaka never sniffed the all-star game, but as soon as he walked to go to the Clippers the entire Toronto Raptors community mourned his loss.
It’s unclear how Powell’s now absence will impact the fanbase. A good player, not a great one, not particularly unique in his game, or bombastic in his personality, Powell could be one of those guys who leaves like a gust of wind. Quietly, and without much change.
More, I think, this officially marks the end of this chapter in Raptors history. Losing another remnant of the 2019 title team, Masai making his first move towards the bottom in his entire tenure as GM, this trade will look more impactful ten years from now than it does in this moment. Of that, we can be sure.
While never a star player, Powell’s six years with the Toronto Raptors have coincided with the most competitive era of basketball in franchise history. Always a player who’s flown a bit under the radar, Powell has nevertheless collected these five pearls from his tenure in the North.
Norman Powell made so many great memories with the Toronto Raptors
Whether it’s coming off the bench as a scorer, starting at the wing, or focusing on the defensive end, Powell’s served his team to the best of his abilities. Toronto got Powell’s best, and that’s something to celebrate.
As fans, let’s look back on our fondest memories during the Powell era.
Norman Powell memory No. 5: the 17-point 4Q vs Atlanta
Kyle Lowry has always been a great defender at the point guard position, but one dirty little secret about him is that he is much better defending up than defending down, meaning he’s much more successful wrestling with bigger, stronger players than himself, rather than guys who might be quicker and trickier.
That’s why Trae Young was giving the Raptors so much trouble on January 20th, 2020. It was a normal enough game; mid-season, pre All-Star break, facing a bottom-feeding Atlanta Hawks team. Still, through the first half, the Raptors had shot only 4/24 from beyond and now trailed Atlanta by 3 points.
With a tie game entering the 4th quarter, the Raptors are dragging their feet. Trae Young has 24 points already and smells blood.
Norman Powell saved the Raptors
With 8:00 minutes to go, Norman dances around a screen from the top of the arc and berries a three to give the Raptors the lead.
The next possession, he gets a hand-off on the left side wing and nails another triple. Next possession. He takes it strong inside, get’s blocked, gets his own rebound, kicks it out, flares to the corner, get’s it back, and hits yet another 3-pointer.
Next points scored? Norm isolates on Vince Carter with 6:00 minutes to go, steps into a three from the top of the key. Money.
Powell shot 4/4 from 3-point land in that fourth quarter. He scored 17 points and went shot for shot with Trae Young to win the Raptors the game. He fended off Young’s 42 points and finished with 27 himself.
Norman Powell memory No. 4: All the dunks
Maybe because the greatest dunker in history will always be remembered with “TORONTO” written across his chest, but it’s always seemed like the Raptors have had a gluttony of high-flyers over their young 26-year run as a franchise. To name a few; McGrady, Carter, Moon, DeRozan, Ross, Anunoby, and Norman Powell.
Norm may not have one signature poster that immortalizes his time in the air, but especially during his younger days Powell was really getting up there. At only 6’3, the ease with which he would throw it down was always striking. How he’d dunk in the half-court as a guard, how he’d palm the ball and throw it down with his leading hand off a backdoor cut or a baseline fake.
What made it so great was you never saw one of his dunks coming. With a lot of athletic guys, you can tell that they’re going for a dunk the second they take off. Maybe they wind up, or jump off two feet, or give a little extra in their takeoff. Not Norm.
Norman Powell was a great dunker
Onlookers would see him go for a layup in traffic and before they knew it he had spiked it down with one hand. The surprise that came with every Norm dunk was part of the spectacle.
He’s dunked on a few people; Anthony Davis, Rodions Kurucs, and Thon Maker to name a few, but the most impressive dunking moments always came in the open court. It wasn’t flashy, but Norm had a signature move. The ‘Leaning Slam’.
This is where he would take off from the dotted line, kick up his heels, pose in the air with the ball cupped over his head, and tip his whole body to spike it through the net. Those dunks serve as a good metaphor for Norm’s game. You really have to look closely to understand how impressive it is.
Norman Powell memory No. 3: 43 points
It seems like the NBA community didn’t really care when Norm dropped 43 points. It felt like just yesterday, didn’t it? It almost was. Let’s just quickly rehash why this scoring benchmark is important.
In Raptors history, there have only been 51 games in which an individual player has scored 40 or more points. Of those 51, Vince Carter, Chris Bosh, and DeMar DeRozan own 36.
So of the 15 non-Vince/Bosh/DeRozan 40-point games, Powell joins only nine other Raptors. In all 2163 Raptors games, Powell joins a list of 13 special players to score 40+.
This doesn’t happen very often is my point.
Norman Powell lit it up against the Pistons
Norm scored 43 points in a loss to the lowly Pistons, but it’s the way he did it that made him so valuable to the trade market.
It was a ‘Klay Thompson-esque’ 40 point game. All off cuts, catch and shoots, single second possessions. If you have a guy who can drop 40+ on a low usage rate and a 100% effective field goal percentage, that’s not something you can just find anywhere.
Norman Powell memory No. 2: Guarding LeBron in the 2016 Playoffs
As a 22-year-old, second-round rookie Powell was about as low on the NBA totem pole as one could get. He averaged fringe-guy stats on fringe-guy minutes as he backed up a wing rotation of DeMar DeRozan, Terrence Ross, and DeMarre Carroll.
By 2016 the Lowry/DeRozan era was in full swing. The Raptors had broken the franchise wins record and were in the middle of the deepest playoff run the team had made to date.
Now in the Eastern Conference Finals, the Raptors were facing the Cleveland Cavaliers team that would later go on to win the title. A team with a big three of Kevin Love, Kyrie Irving, and of course, LeBron James.
Coming off a career year with the Hawks, Toronto had signed DeMarre Carroll in the 2015 offseason with one goal in mind; slow down LeBron. But after the first two games of the series it was clear the Raps were getting no such help from Carroll. In games one and two, the Cavs had demolished Toronto by an average margin of 25 points.
LeBron had had his way with Carroll in both games, logging decreased minutes because of Cleveland’s huge leads and shooting 70% from the field. That’s why half way through a must-win Game 3, Dwane Casey went with a new face, and Powell stepped onto the court.
It started out as a gimmick. Carroll needed a breath, Patrick Patterson had his hands full with Kevin Love, and DeRozan and Ross couldn’t stop LeBron. Powell was mostly out there for his energy and to buy Coach Casey some minutes in which to rest his starting small-forward.
It looked silly. Powell, young and full of nervous energy, looking like a shrimp as he crouched in an exaggeratedly low defensive stance, and LeBron, looking like a Greek God as he towered over him.
What ended up happening was Powell gave him more trouble than any other Raptor did. He pestered him all the way up the court, poked and harassed him with the ball and stayed draped around him without it.
Now, LeBron was still LeBron and the Raptors ended up losing this series in 6, but this was a transformative moment for Powell’s career. It earned him a spot in the league. t changed him from just another guy trying to crack the rotation into a real NBA player.
LeBron James came charging at him, and Norman Powell stood his ground.
Norman Powell memory No. 1: 2019 Eastern Conference Finals
Looking back, Torontonians can’t help but smile when they think of the 2019 championship playoff run. So many incredible memories. The Kawhi shot to get past the 76ers, Lowry dropping 15 in the first quarter of Game 6 of the Finals, Siakam breaking Brook Lopez’s ankles, so much.
What often get’s forgotten is that there was a 6-day stretch where the whole city thought the team was dead in the water.
After knocking out Philly in spectacular fashion, the Raptors immediately went down 2-0 against the 1st seeded Milwaukee Bucks. Kawhi Leonard looked like he’d reaggravated his leg injury, the rest of the roster looked scared, Lowry had a reputation as a sub-par playoff performer.
Meanwhile, the Bucks were firing on all cylinders behind their first-time MVP, Giannis Antetokounmpo. Who provided the spark to reanimate this dead Raptors team? Norman Powell.
Norman Powell came through for the Raptors
Going into game 3 Powell had been averaging 6.5 points in the playoffs, over the next two games he would score 18 and 19 points and defended everyone from Giannis to Middleton to Bledsoe. The Raptors returned from the brink, and it was due in part to Norman Powell.