The NBA Draft is the best way for teams like the Toronto Raptors to pick up young talent, and more often than not, that is where new franchise players are found. With the great number of prospects hoping to make the NBA every year, finding talent that will actually translate to the next level includes a certain amount of guesswork and hope.
As a result, some players are overlooked, fall through the cracks and go undrafted despite great talent. There can be several reasons teams pass on players in the draft. Maybe they played for a small, lesser-known college, or maybe their pre-NBA career didn’t look promising.
Either way, there are usually some gems in the pool of undrafted players, and the Raptors found quite a few of them. So, let’s take a look at the five best undrafted talents to play for the Raptors.
4 best undrafted players in Toronto Raptors history.
4. Jamario Moon
Moon was somewhat of a fan favorite back in his Toronto days. After playing only one season at Meridian Community College, he went undrafted in 2001. This started quite the journey for Moon, who played for the NBA Development League, the Harlem Globetrotters, and the Mexican team Fuerza Regia.
In 2007, he eventually earned a two-year deal with the Toronto Raptors after impressing in a three-day camp the team hosted. Moon quickly gained the coach’s trust and started 75 games in his rookie season. He averaged 8.5 points and 6.2 rebounds that season, but was mostly known for his athletic ability.
Jamario Moon had his moments for the Toronto Raptors.
After recording 12 consecutive games with at least one block, Moon broke a franchise record and further showed off his athleticism in the 2008 Dunk Contest. He finished third behind Dwight Howard and Gerald Green.
Moon showed Toronto fans that even though he went undrafted, he had the talent to compete in the NBA. Still, after two seasons with the Raptors, Moon was traded to Miami together with Jermaine O’Neal. Despite having a solid stint with the Raptors that earned him a spot on this list, Moon never quite found a permanent place in the NBA after that trade in 2009.
His production slipped once he left the Heat to play for the Cleveland Cavaliers, and Moon played his last NBA game in 2012.
3. Chris Boucher
Chris Boucher started his college career at New Mexico Junior College and then moved on to Northwest College in Wyoming before making his way to Oregon. Due to a torn ACL, he, unfortunately, could not work out with teams before the 2017 draft, though, and was subsequently not selected.
The Golden State Warriors were interested in Boucher’s talent, however, and offered him one of the first new two-way deals in 2017. Boucher was only called up from the Santa Cruz Warriors once, though, giving him a slow start to his NBA career.
After his season with the Warriors, Boucher signed another two-way contract with the Raptors. Once again, he spent most of his time in the G League, but this time around, he was named the league MVP and Defensive Player of the Year.
That performance earned Boucher a standard contract with the Raptors, and even though Boucher did not crack the playoff rotation yet at that time, he became the first Canadian to win a title with the lone Canadian NBA franchise.
Chris Boucher has been a terrific addition to the Toronto Raptors.
His best season in a Raptors’ uniform so far was the 2020-21 season. Over 60 games, Boucher averaged a career-high 24.2 minutes per game and put up 13.6 points, 6.7 rebounds, 1.1 assists and 1.9 blocks per game.
Two years later, Boucher is still with the Raptors on a three-year deal he signed in June of last year. Averaging 9.4 points and 5.5 rebounds in 20.1 minutes over 75 games this season, he is now an important part of the Raptors’ regular rotation.
2. Jose Calderon
Calderon is one of the longest-tenured Raptors of all time. He also ranks top-10 in games played, points, assists, and steals in franchise history and had a more than successful career with the Spanish national team on the side. Looking back, it is surprising that no team drafted Calderon in 2003 and that it took him two years after that to make his way to the NBA.
In 2005, Calderon eventually signed with the Raptors and became one of the most talented undrafted players to leave his mark on the NBA. Calderon played eight seasons with the Raptors. Over his career, he averaged 8.9 points, 2.4 rebounds, and 5.8 assists per game, but those numbers don’t do justice to the run he had in the NBA.
Jose Calderon was a tremendous Toronto Raptors player.
Over his eight seasons, Calderon led the NBA in assists per game four times. In the 2008-09 season, which was the best of his career, he [aced the league in assist-to-turnover ratio and in free throw percentage with an insane 98 percent. Later on, he also topped the NBA in three-point percentage in 2013.
Following a trade to Detroit during the 2012-13 season, Calderon still had solid runs with the Pistons, the Mavericks, and the Knicks before his career came to an end in 2019. Nevertheless, his time with the Raptors was unquestioningly the best part of Calderon’s career, as he proved that he belonged in the league after not being drafted.
Even though Calderon is retired as a player, he has not left the NBA yet and is working as a special advisor to the Cleveland Cavaliers’ front office.
1. Fred VanVleet
VanVleet had a successful college career at Wichita State University that included a Final Four run, an undefeated 2013-14 regular season, and two Missouri Valley Conference Men’s Basketball Player of the Year honors.
Nevertheless, VanVleet went undrafted in 2016 due mainly to his height and signed a deal with the Raptors to play in the NBA Summer League. His performance earned him a multi-year deal, but most of his early NBA career was spent in the G League. In 2017, VanVleet won a G League championship with the Raptors 905 and steadily improved every following season as he was given more opportunities and minutes in NBA games.
By 2018, he was a vital rotational player and ultimately proved his worth in the Raptors’ championship season. After providing important scoring off the bench and taking on the almost nightmarish task of guarding the Warriors’ Stephen Curry in the 2019 NBA Finals, VanVleet finished second in Finals MVP voting behind his teammate Kawhi Leonard.
Ever since, the vocal leader has been starting and has become a centerpiece of the Raptors’ franchise. Until someone comes around to top all that, VanVleet’s name is safely etched on top of this list as the best undrafted talent to suit up for the Toronto Raptors.