Toronto may have a new public enemy number one, and his name is not Kendrick Lamar: it's Cavaliers veteran center Tristan Thompson. The 33-year-old Brampton native sparked controversy in Cleveland's February 12 matchup at Scotiabank Arena by dunking with under seven seconds left in a blowout win over the Raptors.
Tristan Thompson is a classless loser. Look at the scoreboard 🤦🏻♂️ Even more disrespectful cause he’s literally Canadian. pic.twitter.com/j3xr7Ceyxi
— Nick (@DubsByNick) February 13, 2025
The Cavaliers ultimately won 131-108, but the Raptors, including their staff, were unhappy with Thompson's poor sportsmanship. It's basically an unwritten basketball rule to dribble out the clock when losing by a large margin. Jae Crowder's January 2020 inbounds steal and three-pointer for Memphis, which angered Elfrid Payton and the Knicks, remains one of my favorite examples of this rule being broken.
This one is a bit different; there was a hint of oomph to that dunk, almost as if Thompson wanted to send a message. Tristan Thompson, hardly a notable NBA name in 2025, has clearly taken issue with his 'hometown' team. But what could his grievance be? After Raptors coach Darko Rajakovic called his behavior "no class" and "disrespectful," Thompson explained himself on X.
You wanna full court press with under a minute left in the game when you get cracked by 30 this will happen to you. Lose for draft lottery and be happy buddy boy. Hopefully you and most of your guys see the light at the end of Bobby and Masai long term plan. Bless up stay warm in… https://t.co/9bsEnB9geb
— Tristan Thompson (@RealTristan13) February 13, 2025
Alright, so let's dive right into this juicy X rant courtesy of Tristan Thompson. He apparently took offense to the Raptors employing a full-court press in the final minute, providing a motive for his outburst. But that's not all, folks. Thompson added some fiery remarks in his tirade, telling Rajakovic to "Lose for draft lottery and be happy buddy boy." He went on to include this snarky statement: "Hopefully you and most of your guys see the light at the end of Bobby and Masai's long-term plan."
Ending his X post with "Bless up, stay warm in MY CITY" (and emojis) may have dug Thompson's grave though.
A little NBA drama never hurt anyone and I'm all for these random beefs brewing as subplots.
Tristan Thompson's diss sparks defiant response from Toronto fans
Many Raptors fans quickly pointed out in the comments that Thompson is from Brampton, a very polarizing suburb in the Greater Toronto Area, not Toronto. It gets better, though—those are just the replies taken at face value. In all honesty, some of the other responses on X are far more hilarious and clearly intended to get under Thompson's skin.
They certainly gave me a chuckle, but take a look for yourselves below:
Bum 😂😂😂
— KEONGOATMAN (@KeonGOATman) February 13, 2025
U play in garbage time, sitting at 33, got carried by bron and Kyrie for your one and only ring and even then u didn't do squat
Stop talking like ur big time, acting like people would know u if it wasn't for Khloe K 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
UR CITY IS BRAMPTON U BUM
Time to retire old man pic.twitter.com/LbEEjmd4DG
— josh 🇵🇸 (@sloshedj) February 13, 2025
My city??? Brother, when was the last time you actually lived in Brampton?
— Omer Osman (@OmerOsman200) February 13, 2025
Last I checked, you’re living in Los Angeles.
When was the last time you played for Team Canada?
The only thing people remember “Tristan Thompson” for is being in LeBron’s shadow, and some… https://t.co/REEWgSP8x4
It’s always a good laugh to see Raptors nation and the Toronto fanbase rally together to go after someone who disses them. They can be fickle at times, but at the end of the day, you can’t beat their loyalty and steadfast nature to ride out for their ones.
This ordeal proves messing with Toronto fans is a bad idea. They are absolutely ruthless. But Thompson probably doesn't care; after all, it's supposedly "his city."