While many sporting eyes have been focused of late on the 2018 edition of the Winter Olympics and others have been studying the lead up to, and the aftermath of the trade deadline in the National Hockey League, another intriguing story has been unfolding.
That story is the one being written by the current version of the Toronto Raptors.
The Raptors have become one of the National Basketball Association’s best run teams.
Since the arrival of Masai Ujiri as general manager in 2013, the Raptors have drafted well, made shrewd trades, kept its homegrown stars content, and as a result have been in contention in the eastern conference for several years.
The combination of shooting guard DeMar DeRozan, one of the most underrated stars in the NBA, and smooth point guard Kyle Lowry, the Raptors have been consistent on the court. The supporting cast has changed but the back court tandem have been the heart and soul of success on and off the court.
It should not be lost in a discussion of the current Raptors how they have finally emerged as Canada’s team.
Basketball may have found a home in Toronto from day one of the franchise, but it should be remembered a Vancouver team failed, and the sport was never widely discussed at water coolers and coffee shops for years.
Part of the reason the relationship between the rest of Canada and the Raptors was slow to develop is a general bias toward hockey. It didn’t help that the Raptors are based in Toronto either, a city many in the rest of Canada tend to have an aversion toward.
But the love affair has blossomed of late, and with good reason.
Part of it has been savvy marketing. The ‘We the North’ marketing campaign is a great one, and has been a rallying cry for fans across the league taking in Raptor games.
The Raptors are also beginning to show up in advertising from Go Daddy websites, to Google, and every time a play gets face time on TV it helps grow interest in the sport.
Winning helps too, and that is where Ujiri has been key.
Not everything he touches turns to gold. Bruno Caboclo was a notable 2014 draft pick taken 20th overall who just never quite developed as was obviously expected, and as a result was traded at this year’s deadline in a move which made barely a ripple in terms of fan interest. But it speaks to Ujiri overall drafting that a first rounder like Caboclo can be a failure and yet the team has become a consistent winner. Take OG Anunoby who was taken 23rd overall in the 2017 draft, and is consistently in the Raptors starting five. That is high praise for Ujiri and Anunoby since he is not starting for a team in a rebuild, but for the team currently leading the NBA east.Ujiri likes to go off the beaten path to find his way to success though. Jakob Pöltl was selected by the Raptors with the ninth overall pick in the 2016 NBA draft, becoming the first ever Austrian to be drafted. He has become a very serviceable forward off the bench. Interestingly Pascal Siakam came out of the same draft, and is a Cameroon-born player.Then there is Fred Van Vleet, a key piece coming off the bench, an area of strength for the Raptors this season. Van Vleet was not a drafted player.
Using low first round picks Ujiri has a knack for finding players who can contribute to a team approach to winning. There may not be the elite player such as Cleveland’s Lebron James or Golden State’s Steph Curry, but the Raptors get it done as a team. Most nights they are playing exciting basketball, and winning in the process.
We may still be a hockey country but the Raptors are currently so engaging as a franchise it’s hard not to get caught up in the excitement this crew is generating.
