If you're like me then it's completely possible you miss basketball right now. Sports are so often something to distract or even bring hope and communal togetherness during difficult times. Now we're in the toughest of situations and sports (among many more important things) are on indefinite hiatus with hopes for any return soon dwindling daily. These are emotionally awful days, to state the obvious.
So lets forget the doom for a moment and think of the past involving one of my very favourite teams: your current defending NBA champion Toronto Raptors. Specifically, I'll be looking back on every number ever worn by a player and picking a champion for that number.
(Also I am retrospectively aware that the excellent Eric Koreen of The Athletic has written this same kind of article. I have not yet read that, so this will be truly my version of that concept, non-influenced by Mr. Koreen's choices or particular discussions.)
Basketball fans.... your, Torontooooooo.... Raaaaptors!
00 -- Eric Montross (C, 01-02)
When I see a zero number in sports, I always think basketball. You've got current all-stars like Dame Lillard and Russell Westbrook wearing it now, Gilbert Arenas yelling "Hibachi" during every shot a decade ago. But double zero? That's like... zero times two! Which would... also be zero.
Only two Raps have worn 0x0. Chris Garner was a squat backup point guard on the awful 1998 post-Damon Stoudamire-trade team, so we'll go with Montross here, an often injured centre on the early Vince playoff teams. While Montross had little impact (12 year old me just remembers him as a giant white dude with weird eyes), the fella he was traded from Detroit with would have a much more notable tenure with the club (more on him later).
0 --
Checking players who have ever worn a 'zero' number, '00' was more popular among big men (like Hall-of-Famer Robert Parish) while '0' was favoured more by guards. Maybe bigger numbers look better on bigger dudes? I dunno.
Five Raptors have worn the lonely zero. Marco Belinelli played one season in Toronto early in his career before becoming one of the leagues better shooting role players, James Johnson wore '0' in his first stint with the team, and Jared Sullinger was a free agent signing we were pretty excited about (finally a rebounding PF!) before a pre-season knee injury made him slow and unplayable, eventually necessitating the Ibaka trade.
While I really want to put the dynamic rookie Terence Davis II here, for now lets roll with the self-proclaimed dad of the endlessly enjoyable Bench Mob of 2017-18: C.J. Miles. I'm sure it'll be Davis in a years time (or sooner if the 19-20 playoffs somehow happen) but for now it's Miles, who gave that Bench Mob season much needed 3 point shooting, pajamas (C.J's PJs!) and a wicked smile. His bad defense was noticeably exploited in bigger moments, though it's not really his fault that Dwane Casey liked to do weird things like have Miles guard LeBron James in a crucial playoff game.
1 --
Lots of guys! Good luck charm Pat McCaw wore this during the championship run, Jarrett Jack was a decent PG brought in to steal Jose Calderon's job (ha) and also tempt Chris Bosh to stay through their Wake Forest connection (double ha). More point guards: Roko Ukic, somebody I was actually really excited about at the time but just ended up being another in the carousel of backup Toronto guards who couldn't shoot; Justin Dentmon played 94 NBA minutes, 72 of them as a Raptor in 4 games (don't remember him a lick); Omar Cook likewise played 74 minutes (in 5 games), racked up some assists (22) and steals (6) and never saw an NBA court again. Jason Thompson was a useful big man for a little while who joined on in Toronto to sit on the bench during the 2015-2016 East Finals run, Rod Strickland was a Raptor for a minute near the end of his career (12th on the all time assists list) and Dominic McGuire I think has been described as the Raptor least-willing to shoot in team history, who actually saw meaningful minutes (that sounds like a Blake Murphy thing. Go read him for that stuff).
Sigh. Chris Childs. I hadn't watched any of Game Five against the Pistons (this is back when the NBA first round was a best of five) since it aired almost eighteen years ago, when I was in Grade Nine. It was a painful game. That 01-02 Raptor team was written off once Vince Carter was injured for the season, only for them to go on a huge winning streak to squeak intothe playoffs. In my memory I'd always assumed Childs forgot the score and shot a bad long two while we were down three on the final possession. Watching it again I don't think that's it. Instead, looking at the game clock, I just have no goddamn clue what he's thinking here. (You can skip it to about the 1:45 mark, those highlight commentators are annoying). Combine it with a crucial turnover he makes thirty seconds earlier on an inbounds (not in the clip) and you can see why Childs is so infamous among long time Raptor fans.
Number one at... well #1, has to be Tracy McGrady. Sadly I was just a bit too young to really remember T-Mac in purple. Drafted ninth overall in 1998 as an 18 year old, it wasn't until his third season that he started receiving the playing time he probably deserved much earlier. At that point it was too late. He wasn't interested in playing second fiddle in the shadow of his supernova cousin Vince Carter and wanted to play at home, so left for Orlando and went on to a Hall of Fame career, though playoff success eluded him. Considering Carter's comparative lack of success there as well, maybe still the greatest "what if" question in Raptor history is what heights the team reaches with both Carter and McGrady in their primes. With a championship in tow perhaps it doesn't now sting the way it once did, but either way it sure would've been fun to watch.
2 --
I remember Voshun Lenard really well (for whatever reason): a shoot-first SG who was a Raptor one full season during the end of Carter's era. Sundiata Gaines and his 90 minutes with the team is something I don't remember at all, but Gaines possibly torching the Raps in one of those random revenge games? Maybe a thing? (checked: not a thing. Had 8 points as a Net once but that's all). Jannero Pargo is an incredibly obscure Raptor but ended up playing another decade in the NBA as a backup once that cameo concluded. Nigel Hayes is about as obscure as it gets, playing 2 games for a total of six minutes. However I actually remember this really well because it was only two years ago, he hit a couple of threes against the Knicks and was way too overly jacked up about it in a 30 point blowout for the Raptors (I'm certain it rubbed Casey and or Ujiri the wrong way and he was quickly released).
Darrick Martin was that perfect veteran third strong point guard every mediocre team needs, best remembered for trash talking MJ as a Grizzlie (oops) and as a Raptor hitting the most awesomely pointless three ever to extend the franchise's then-NBA-record straight games hitting from deep (I can't find video of it anywhere, since it was the end of a 35 point road loss 15 years ago, but I'm sure Chuck Swirsky loses his mind). Landry Fields was a good citizen sadly with an elbow so damaged when he arrived he eventually attempted learning how to shoot with his other arm, though he was useful against those stupid Nets in the playoffs. P.J. Tucker in his second stint (he wore '1' in his obscure first stint a decade before) added some much needed truckulance for one of those really good DeMar/Kyle teams that just couldn't beat LeBron.
Oliver Miller was the kind of player you never see anywhere in the NBA these days, or even professional sports non-Bartolo Colon division (I don't follow American Football). Miller was a center who at his heaviest looked like somebody you'd see on Biggest Loser, yet his tremendous girth disguised his sneaky athleticism and terrific court vision. The modern NBA is a much faster paced game so it is tricky to see if somebody of Miller's... unique size would fit, but yeah he also averaged 1.5 steals a game one season. As a 300+ pound dude. Different kind of ball or not, that's impressive.
This is all window dressing of course. The best '2' is him. That fun guy. When the trade happened there was serious worry he was still injured, or in darker circles if he played well he'd demand a trade halfway through the year. He arrived with a suitcase full of huge questions regarding his attitude, his own career, and then the potential direction and future of his new team. He left near-universally beloved as one of the greatest sport heroes an entire generation in that city had ever seen. It's arguably the most impactful one season cameo for a franchise in the history of North American sports. A primary actor and protagonist of unforgettable, unbelievable moments. Board - Man - gets - paid.
3 -- OG Anunoby (2018-present)
The number of role players, Est. 1995. Indeed, as the fortunes of the franchise have improved so have the players wearing this number. Big Zan Tabak is a well known name among long time Raptor fans (but well before my time). Chauncey Billups played in Toronto half a season as a fresh lottery pick Boston gave up on (the same year they drafted him! 90s NBA was weird, man). Billups bounced around for a while until finding much bigger things and a borderline HoF career in Detroit.
(La?)Mark Baker owns a strong case as the most obscure Raptor of all time: playing two minutes in a single 98-99 game for his professional debut and never playing NBA ball again. Haywoode Workman played just 13 games of his 359 NBA games in purple but at least he got more than two minutes. Geez I wanna know if anyone really remembers these guys as a Raptor who wasn't actually on those teams.
More into my infancy as a fan, Loren Woods was an 'insert tall dude here' starting centre on some really bad teams (there's a reason the solid but very unflashy Rasho Nesterovic was a serious breath of fresh air for us). Juan Dixon was a frustrating score-first combo guard on a good Sam Mitchell/Bosh team; Marcus Banks was an overpaid point guard acquired in Bryan Colangelo's bad/coulda-been-way-worse Jermaine O'Neal-Marion swap, and Nando de Colo is an overseas superstar player the Raptors still own NBA rights on, despite not playing NBA minutes since 2014 (another one for Blake Murphy). Then you get Hassan Adams, or Gary Forbes who... well by his numbers seemed potentially useful. Once traded to Houston (as part of the Lowry trade) Forbes never played NBA ball again. I want to say he was injured, though the Rockets waived him before that season even began.
Lowry himself also wore '3' during his prickly first season with the club, his more known '7' was occupied by... Andrea Bargnani. Yeah, that Bargnani. It's incredibly strange/funny that the first number the team will likely retire was occupied for a whole season by Primo Pasta Sauce Man when said legend arrived.
Anyways '3' goes to OG, still one of the youngest current Raptors and a key starter on still one of the best teams in the NBA. He's had some real nice moments plus his scarf game is... decidedly more subtle (damn I miss this team).
4 --
Rondae Hollis-Jefferson is a useful (though erratic) bench forward on the current Raptors who shares my very understandable discomfort with heights. Luis Scola used old-man wiliness and a sudden ability to hit corner threes to great success on arguably the second most successful Raptors team of all time. You've also got early Raps Vincenzo Esposito and Sharone Wright (neither of whom I remember) and G-League stud Lorenzo Brown (whom I do remember and and wasn't much good). Jelani McCoy was another for the great rotation of mediocre centres during the Carter and beyond years, Michael "Yogi" Stewart was a fan favourite (why???) remembered more for his nickname than his play, and I served Quincy Acy once (his then-girlfriend-now-wife is a super kind, sweetheart of a person).
The award of '4' goes to Chris Bosh, a legitimately Hall of Fame player who like Carter was loathed when he left town but time has forgiven that wound. Also like Carter, Bosh was a young star in his prime when he left, the departure difference being situational: Bosh's buddies were forming a super-duper team and Colangelo's Raptors were going nowhere. To be fair to Vince, his sulky last season was also Rob Babcock's first year as GM, so Carter was pretty correct thinking that team wasn't going anywhere also. Younger me was quite resentful of Bosh for a while though and soooo wanted the Heat to lose.
Nevertheless, the Bosh as a Raptor era was a success with two (though disappointing) playoff appearances, the only franchise playoff appearances even now without somebody named Carter or Lowry on the roster. As great as Bosh was, he needed way more help here and was truly best utilized as an elite do-everything second/third option superstar in Miami with LeBron and Wade. Don't also forget how the Raptors could've totally screwed up by not drafting Bosh. In 2004 Toronto by the bad luck of the draft lottery, landed the fourth pick. No LeBron, no Carmelo... and no Darko Milicic! Carmelo in T.O. could've been fun (though super different) but taking Darko instead of Bosh (or Wade) is a potential mistake the potential Nevada Raptors would surely still regret.
Also there's this classic. A shame that blood clots of all damn things ended his great career way too soon.
5 -- Jalen Rose (G/F, 2004-2006)
What, not Bruno? This writer is an idiot, haven't you seen this?
(Actually I didn't have internet at my new apartment at the time, so I listened to that game on the radio)
'5' has been a number of disappointment in Raptors history. Michael Bradley, a college standout and first round pick, was the first to wear #5 but injuries prevented him from any notability while wearing it. Will Solomon was a (bad) backup point guard who would often turn and jump when making a pass, something that looks dramatic but really explains a lot of his turnovers. Quincy Douby and John Lucas III were both forgettable third-string guards during Bad Times(TM), Lucas surviving most of a season while Douby was roster fodder near the end of one. Austin Daye played just 33 minutes as a Raptor but his notable skinny/tallness stands out to my recollection.
Jerryd Bayless was a score-first combo guard who carved out an okay career, but didn't do much to help some really bad defensive Raptor teams. DeMarre Carroll is still Masai Ujiri's biggest money free agent signing and while useful (when healthy), he wasn't able to bring the consistent package of gritty forward defense and shooting that had made him such an integral glue guy in Atlanta.
Jalen Rose, likewise, was somewhat a disappointment in Toronto, though it was an odd idea to begin with. Another feature of those late Carter teams (besides auditioning any seven foot schlub at center) was a point guard void, since Alvin Williams was constantly hurt and unavailable. Switching out Antonio Davis for Rose in late 2003 (only a couple seasons removed from being a 20 ppg scorer on a finals team), seemed a risky but interesting challenge trade.
Rose was a fun offensive player who could do some different things, but being a full time point guard wasn't quite one of them. Despite being a reliable second option and an entertaining lefty scorer, the team was still pretty bad after he joined. Vince was soon traded next December and Rose was then just a good-ish player on a now awful team. Two seasons afterward he was traded to the Knicks as a historically useful salary dump (ironically for Antonio Davis again). Rose didn't enjoy much team success but had some fun in Toronto, was/is clearly well respected within the history of the organization and has constantly given love and respect to the team and city back.
6 -- Cory Joseph (PG, 2015-17)
Jerome Moiso was another big athletic dude on those bad Carter teams we would get really excited about after one big career game every month (comparatively, what Serge Ibaka averages now). Man... some times. Luke Jackson was a 10th overall pick elsewhere with actual multiple playoff appearances as a Raptor (definitely don't remember that). His NBA career scoring averages are crazy affected by a 30 point outburst on the last day of the 06-07 season. Alan Anderson had an out-of-nowhere useful season as a swingman early in Dwane Casey's tenure, soon haunting the Raptors in the Nets playoff series the next year.
Getting big Jermaine O'Neal was a big score and a bigger disappointment (a Colangelo over-reaction to prime Dwight Howard owning the Raps in the playoffs the year before, in retrospect). O'Neal's all-star days were well behind him, he cramped Bosh's floor space, and Colangelo then made an even worse trade to get rid of him.
We'll go with the local boy done good here, Cory Jo. A reliable, steady point guard behind Lowry on a pair of terrific teams. What Joseph lacked in shooting he covered with tenacious defense and a good drive-to-the-basket game, like a mini-Tony Parker. Plus this shot was so nails.
7 --
A super easy one, but also a fun look through history. Alvin Robertson was a terrific multiple all-star (though not a good human) in the late 80s-early 90s, who was the most recognizable name for the inaugural Raptors. The late Clifford Rozier was next to wear it, playing quite a lot as a starting center for the second Raptors season. Benoit Benjamin likewise is a dude too early for me to remember, though he had a pretty notable NBA career (only 4 games of it in Toronto) and then Brown had a couple seasons in the late 90s as a gun slinging guard who shot a ton of threes.
Keon Clark soon after that gave the Raptors the best two seasons of his career as an interior menace: blocking shots, kicking butts and taking names. An overlooked stud on the first Toronto team that made me personally fall in love with the game. Clark had some seriously sad and disruptive habits (later confessing he never "played a game sober") that undoubtedly ended his career prematurely and led to extended jail time. One can hope he has continued to stay on top of those demons (and it would seem he really is).
After the eventful but inconsequential Nate Huffman, nobody wore '7' until the first (and still only) #1 overall pick in Raptors history. The team was awful at this point: Chris Bosh was showing potential but was just finishing his second season and rookie Charlie Villanueva had capped a decent debut season with a 48 point game. Beyond that there wasn't much hope, so finally scoring a first overall pick felt like a transformative moment for the franchise.
There wasn't a clear number one in the 2006 draft, though. Adam Morrison and his 70's teenager look was a legend at Gonzaga but his NBA fit was uncertain; LaMarcus Aldridge was a stellar Texas big man but there was concern his game was too similar to Bosh's so they'd step on each other's toes (something Colangelo completely forgot when getting Jermaine O'Neal apparently) and Tyrus Thomas was an explosive but raw forward out of a championship run at LSU.
So Colangelo swung for the fences, selecting an Italian seven footer known as 'Il Mago' (The Magician), considered to then have the upside of Dirk Nowitzki as a dynamic shooting big man. Andrea Bargnani. Funny enough I remember the night the Raps drafted him: my buddy and I (we'd both graduated the year before) went downtown to crash our high school's prom afterparty and ended up escaping what was a somewhat lame rooftop affair just before the cops came to bust it.
Speaking of bust, Bargnani wasn't the next Dirk Nowitzki. His promising but flawed rookie season was followed by a step backwards in year two, then basically everything he was ever going to be in his third season: a stretch big man with average shooting skills without a position and dreadful defense. He wasn't strong enough inside or on the glass to be a center (one of the all time worst rebounders in NBA history among seven footers.) and as he got doughier his lack of mobility to keep up with forwards became glaring on good days. Besides his notorious '13 game' stretch where it maybe looked like it could work, Bargnani was the Raptors "Hot Potato" as my friend called him. It does explain this damn hilarious moment, an all time favourite of mine (I love how Tyson Chandler is freaking out before the ball even hits the rim).
One of the first things new general manager Masai Ujiri did was somehow unload Bargnani and his awful contract to the Knicks for Steve Novak and a draft pick (Jakob Poetl, win, then part of the trade to bring in Kawhi Leonard, super duper win). This gave the rebuilding Raptors some salary relief but more importantly, freed '7' for this goddamn legend man.
It's strange to think now, after a title run and playoff ghosts have been exorcised, but getting Kyle Lowry was not an exciting move at the time. Even in that woeful eastern conference the team wasn't close to the playoffs. Jose Calderon was still here doing Calderon things (gawd love him), and so Lowry was just another point guard brought in to steal Calderon's job, like Jarrett Jack and Jerryd Bayless and many others before. Add that he cost a first round draft pick and his reputation as a coach's headache, it felt like another doomed move by a desperate Bryan Colangelo. Colangelo then doubled down that same season, swinging a trade to Memphis for Rudy Gay (giving away the promising Ed Davis) partially in hopes that Gay's close friendship with Lowry would stabilize the situation.
As we know, that's not exactly what happened. There weren't enough shots to go around with Gay, Lowry, an emerging DeMar DeRozan and the not emerging Andrea Bargnani, plus none of these guys besides Lowry seemed interested in playing any defense. Ujiri took over, traded Gay (more on that later) and was famously all set to trade Lowry to New York when rumour has it Knicks owner James Dolan swatted away the deal, possibly because Iman Shumpert (who may or may not have been coming back to Toronto) was having a strong week. So Lowry stuck with the Raptors, was stellar in that unbelievable 2013-14 turnaround, re-signed that off-season, and continues to lead as their heart, soul and mind through this incredible era of Raptors basketball. One of my favourite things about last years championship run was how Kyle, in each series clinching game, frantically rushes to grab the game ball right when the game ends. Even when Kawhi hits "The Shot" in that chaotic moment you can see him rush to grab it right away.
Maybe other players had more impressive peaks and superior talent or skill, but as a greater body of work Kyle Lowry is the greatest Raptor of all time, and obviously the best '7'. Kyle Lowry Over Everything.
8 -- Jose Calderon (PG, 2006-2013)
Jermaine Jackson (no not that Jermaine Jackson) was a seldom used journeyman guard I vaguely remember from the Carter era, and Jordan Loyd is of course the Random Guy In A Suit.
Looking back, the 2016 Raptors were never going to beat the Cavaliers that year. Most people already knew that, but there was a ton of excitement regardless. That was a fun Raptors team with some funky stories (Luis Scola! Rookie Norman Powell!) but maybe none more so than Bismack Biyombo, a severely offensively challenged center who feasted on rebounds, blocks, and the adoration of the Toronto crowds that loved him. With Jonas Valanciunas injured, Biyombo stepped in against Miami in the second round and was a terror the rest of the run, bringing confidence and energy to a team that was over-matched against Cleveland's star power. Few expected the Raptors to win a game that series, forget two, and while the result and subsequent pantsing the next couple years at the hands of the Cavs aren't particularly fond memories, 2016 is the only time the Raptors felt somewhat dangerous against LeBron and Biyombo was a huge part of that.
But with respect to Biz, Jose Calderon gets the '8' nod. Probably one of the worst defenders I've ever seen, Calderon was still really good for a while and so fun to watch. A creative passing, elite shooting point guard with considerable style and flair, he constantly faced challengers to his starting position and constantly snuffed them out. Plus I swear his bald spot noticeably shrunk as time went on. He only had the good fortune of playing on a couple of good teams while he was here unfortunately, but he made those really bad teams at least watchable. One season I think he hit like fourty free throws in a row (and shot 98.1 percent from the charity stripe that year).
9 -- Serge Ibaka (C/F, 2017-present)
Joey Dorsey was a ripped, muscle bound dude who played way more than I remember on the "Bargnani #1 Guy" team (eech). Maceo Baston is surely one of the most forgettable Raptors to ever have two separate stints with the team (he wore '14' the first go) and Rick Brunson is not a good human. Kornel David had an unremarkable Raptors career (and his name just reminds me of popcorn), likewise Roy Rogers (who reminds me of an Elton John song). Tony Massenburg had a more notable career and is an original Raptor, which I'm way too young to remember so I'll move on. The late Rasual Butler wore '9' in his lone Raptor season, best remembered for botching a crucial inbounds play late in a close game, and Pape Sow really should've started instead of Loren Woods (couldn't have made things worse).
The nod goes to Serge Ibaka, really the only good/great player to ever wear '9'. Mafuzzy Chef has had a wild journey in just the four seasons he's been here. Acquired at the trade deadline in 2017 to finally be that reliable power-forward the team missed since Amir Johnson's old man ankles limped out of town, Ibaka was terrific down that stretch and earned a big contract extension. The next season wasn't so tasty: he often looked lethargic on the court and struggled playing alongside the post heavy presence of Jonas Valanciunas. After struggling mightily in the playoffs (a total non-factor in the Cavs Pt. III series) fans were eager to just dump the contract somehow, even if it meant giving up a draft pick to sweeten the deal. People hated this guy.
How quickly things can change. New coach Nick Nurse decided to make Ibaka a full time center instead of forcing the awkward Serge/Val frontcourt, and it worked brilliantly. While still prone to occasional bad shots and iffy decisions, that lazy-ish version of Ibaka seems inconceivable now. The dude brings serious energy, fight and intensity on the hardwood, and he deserves endless praise for accepting a slightly reduced role and making the absolute most of it. Everyone talks about Kawhi's shot, but Ibaka's performance against the 76ers in that Game Seven was absolutely enormous, being the only Raptor reserve capable of doing anything and hitting some huge third quarter shots when it looked like Philadelphia might pull away.
Also his social media game, or ability to promote himself is clearly hall of fame level. It's hard to think of any Toronto athlete transform from "everyone wants him gone", to being absolutely beloved so quickly, especially when it's a dude who loves to trick his friends into eating weird gross stuff. He is so straight-faced yet irresistibly charming in an elegant goofy way. "He does art."
10 --
I remember Milt Palacio way more than any sane person should. Those bad Raptor seasons are traumatic, man. He was a backup point guard, wasn't very good on a very not good team. Neither was Uros Slokar, the second to ever wear #10 as a Raptor.
The third was a high flying kid out of Compton, California, drafted 9th overall in 2009. He was raw and barely twenty years old when he debuted that year on October 28th, starting alongside a who's who of Raptor history: Chris Bosh, Calderon, Bargnani and Hedo Turkoglu. It was a weird team, flimsily built to make the playoffs and convince Bosh to stay. Little did anyone know, that 20 year old kid would be crucial in ushering the greatest era in team history and become its all time leading scorer.
The impact that DeMar DeRozan had on the Raptors franchise is difficult to overstate and goes beyond the numbers. Vince was a superstar almost right away. Bosh wasn't as flashy as young Vince (who is) but by his third season was acknowledged as an all-star caliber player. With DeRozan it was never a sure thing. He had incredible physical tools but also serious flaws: weak defense, couldn't hit a three etc. A decade later and these are still problems, but what he did instead was tirelessly and steadily improve the other aspects of his game. He learned how to draw fouls, developed his footwork and became a terror in the mid-range. Through trial and error he grew comfortable taking 'the big shots', and then near the end of his Raptor days his playmaking ability was a serious strength. It took a while but his sincere dedication to getting better, no matter the price, directly coincided with the improvements of the franchise. In the early post-Bosh years he was a solid scorer who could've coasted on that ability and had a nice though forgettable career. Then the team got good and he kept getting better along with them. Soon when he had the chance to leave, play in his native country or perhaps even his hometown, he re-signed in Toronto without even a second thought.
A lot of people will focus on his flaws or whether he's just somebody who stuffs the stat sheet with inefficient shooting. Fair enough, but first off not everybody can be the guy he was traded for. Second, when you watch a player on your team for so long their flaws become familiar and a frustrating subjective narrative. It's like how Lowry takes too many heat check threes, Bosh flailed too much, Vince didn't want to dunk anymore (which... at the end he didn't actually), Siakam dribbles to the basket sometimes without a plan, Bargnani was a hot potato etc.
DeRozan was a great Raptor and is still a great player. He believed in the franchise's potential for greatness probably before most of its fans did, and then helped deliver it. A Raptor all-timer and hopefully that '10' is retired alongside '7' as it should be. And man did he have some moments.
Next time we'll check out 11-20. Lots of old friends, lots of forgotten acquaintances.
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