No. 1: Antawn Jamison (No. 4, 1998)
Antawn Jamison never played a minute of basketball for the Raptors, but it’s his name that reigns as the No. 1 entry on this list.
Of course, that’s because it was Jamison’s name that was called when Toronto made their fourth overall pick in 1998, moments before he was sent to Golden State for No. 5 pick and college teammate Vince Carter (and cash, in a sneaky bit of manipulation by GM Glen Grunwald) in a pre-arranged trade.
We all know what happened from there. While Jamison enjoyed a perfectly solid 16-year NBA career, Carter elevated the Raptors franchise with his electrifying aerial abilities and scoring prowess.
The man known as “Air Canada” built a legacy for basketball in the country that, in some ways, served as the platform upon which an entire generation of young Canadian athletes built their own NBA dreams.
Pick Evolution
For as bright as the early days of the VC era in Toronto were, the final days were every bit as dark. Carter openly admitted to not giving a full effort while hoping for a trade away from a losing Raptors squad.
He got his wish with a move to New Jersey, which provided further embarrassment when Alonzo Mourning refused to report and no other significant assets were returned.
All told, the Raps and then-GM Rob Babcock surrendered the franchise’s first true superstar for four so/so seasons of Joey Graham, less than 100 combined games from the forgettable duo of Aaron and Eric Williams (no relation), and a first-round pick used to get out of the contract of Jalen Rose (Renaldo Balkman was later selected).
Hindsight Pick
For all of Carter’s greatness – both in peak ‘Vinsanity’ era performance and in his longevity, the two players from his draft class with more points were both selected after him. While many mistakes were made at the top of the draft (Michael Olowokandi, Raef LaFrentz, Robert “Tractor” Traylor…), Dirk Nowitzki and Paul Pierce provided home run picks at the back of the top-10.