I honestly forget how quickly father time can pass players by in the NBA. It's like one minute there's a player I know is in the league, and in the blink of an eye, that same guy could be out of the NBA, and I wouldn't even notice it happening.
And that sentiment holds true for many former players from the Toronto Raptors' past, but one name that honestly feels like he was just with the team yesterday and now seems to have drifted off into the sunset is Dalano Banton.
Where is the once hometown Raptors hero, Dalano Banton, now?
Back in the 2021 NBA Draft, of course, the talk of the town was Toronto's lottery pick Scottie Barnes, but the Raptors could also highlight that class as the source of the franchise's first-ever Canadian selected in the draft. The Raptors used their 46th overall second-round pick on Rexdale native Dalano Banton, a big combo guard who was coming into the league as an older collegiate prospect.
I remember being hyped about the Raptors adding a sense of hometown flair to their roster, since Banton was as authentic a hometown kid as you could get. He even leaned into this connection to the city as his career took off, choosing to wear jersey number 25 in tribute to the 45 Kipling TTC route he used to take growing up. Banton didn't look poised to become a star or anything overnight by any means, but he certainly had the potential to become somewhat of a consistent piece in the rotation if all things went to plan.
And while Banton experienced moments of an elevated role in Toronto, such as his career-high (up until that point) against Detroit in November 2022, it wasn’t a common occurrence during his time with the Raptors. Ultimately, when his tenure in the city came to an end, he averaged just 10.9 minutes in his first year with the team and 9.0 minutes the following season.
After two years and 95 games played with his hometown franchise, the Raptors eventually let him walk in 2023 free agency, and Banton signed with the Boston Celtics. Boston appeared to be just as much of a shark's tank for Banton as Toronto had been, but it wasn't until he found his way to Portland in 2024 that fans might have finally begun to see the true version of Dalano Banton.
The Blazers used Banton heavily as the 2023-24 season neared its end, averaging 16.7 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 3.6 assists over 30 games played, including eight starts. Unfortunately for Banton as well, he made headlines for all the wrong reasons in the Blazers' 2023-24 season finale, going 0-for-15 on his three-point attempts — the most attempts by an NBA player in history without a single make.
Banton remained with Portland in this past 2024-25 season, where he served as the third-string point guard in the Blazers' depth chart. And it seems like Portland has fully moved on from Banton completely, choosing not to extend the 25-year-old to any type of deal going forward. Reese Kunz of FanSided's Rip City Project would refer to a key quote in his own recent piece regarding Banton, where Sean Highkin of The Rose Garden Report said the following: "I have no idea what's going on with Dalano Banton this summer. At this point, he might either have to go overseas or go to somebody's training camp on a prove-it deal."
Like I just highlighted not too long ago with Precious Achiuwa, competition in the modern NBA is super cut-throat, and it seems that Dalano Banton might also find himself among the players on the outside looking in as the new season approaches.