The city of Toronto, Ontario is deservedly celebrating the Raptors’ first experience in the NBA Finals after falling just short for a few years. Taking down a repeat defending champion will be a tall task, but in many ways Toronto hoops is already winning, and it extends beyond the Raptors’ recent successes. Toronto is known primarily as a hockey city, but also hangs two World Series championships banners in its cavernous downtown baseball edifice. In recent years we’ve witnessed young Toronto hoopsters kick down the door to represent their city in an area reserved for some of the larger cities in the United States as top producers of NBA-level talent.
WAIT, WHERE ARE YOU FROM AGAIN?
I have no facts to back this up, but I’m sure every basketball player from Toronto—or other cities in Canada—can share stories of walking onto a court and being immediately written off—and getting the head-to-toe side-eye—upon revealing his or her hometown. To this day, even with the recent influx of NBA talent from the area and the Raptors’ deep playoff run, when folks think of Toronto, several things come to mind before basketball does.
The networks covering the early rounds of the NBA Playoffs agree, with Drake garnering only slightly less camera time during game action than Kawhi Leonard.
FROM TRICKLE…
Those of us who were watching college hoops back in the late 1980s remember a young, Toronto-born Rick Fox making a name for himself while playing for the legendary Dean Smith at the University of North Carolina. Although he moved to the United States at a young age, he was still considered a bit of an anomaly as a Canadian-born basketball player, and the game announcers never failed to remind us of his birthplace.
This would continue throughout his 13-year NBA career (1991-2004) as a member of the league’s two signature franchises, the Boston Celtics and the Los Angeles Lakers, and a three-time NBA champion
Jamal Magloire is another Toronto native with an NBA background, bouncing around during a 12-year career (2001-12) where he earned a reputation as a strong rebounder and interior defender after matriculating at the University of Kentucky. He’s now back at home as an assistant coach for the hometown Raptors.
Leo Rautins preceded both these gentlemen and had a short NBA stay in the early 1980s, but his performances at Syracuse University let us all know there was more than hockey being played in the Toronto area.
…TO DAM BURST
In recent years we’ve seen an increase in the number of Toronto-area born athletes earning basketball scholarships to some of the top schools in the United States. Veteran NBA players like Cory Joseph (University of Texas and currently with the Indiana Pacers), Kelly Olynyk (Gonzaga University and currently with the Miami Heat), Tristan Thompson (University of Texas and currently with the Cleveland Cavaliers) and Dwight Powell (Stanford University and currently with the Dallas Mavericks) have each become valuable NBA reserves with between six and eight years of experience.
In 2013, Toronto native Anthony Bennett earned the distinction of being selected as the top overall selection by the Cleveland Cavaliers in that year’s NBA Draft after spending a year at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas. He has been unable to stick on an NBA roster, but someone thought enough of his skills to offer him a scholarship to a top Division 1 school and select him first in the same draft where Indiana’s Victor Oladipo was taken second, Portland’s C.J. McCollum went at number 10, Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo was selected 15th, and Utah’s Rudy Gobert was the 27th pick.
RAISING THE BAR
More recently, players like Andrew Wiggins (University of Kansas/Minnesota Timberwolves), and Jamal Murray (University of Kentucky/Denver Nuggets) have raised the bar, becoming starters and averaging around 18 points per game for their respective NBA squads during the 2018-19 season. Nick Stauskas (University of Michigan) has played for five NBA teams in five seasons, but his shooting ability keeps him around.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (University of Kentucky) just completed a successful first season with the Los Angeles Clippers where he earned a starting role and was named to the NBA’s All-Rookie Second Team. He’ll turn 21 in July.
Dillon Brooks (University of Oregon/Memphis Grizzlies) holds the record for most points scored (19) in an NBA debut by a Canadian-born player, and will look to rebound from injury after a strong rookie season in 2017-18.
FUTURE ATTRACTIONS
In upcoming 2019 NBA Draft, most experts believe Toronto-born R.J. Barrett will be among the top five players selected after spending a year at Duke University. He’s considered a can’t-miss prospect and, yes, he’s being compared favorably to a couple of guys currently starring in the NBA.
There is even mention of a Toronto kid rated as the top 7th-grader in North America, but we’ll leave that youngster alone and let him enjoy his childhood.
A SALUTE TO VINCE CARTER
Future first-ballot Hall of Famer Vince Carter has announced he’ll return for his 22nd NBA season in 2019-20. He’ll turn 43 years old next January, and has outlasted many younger players by adjusting his game and benching his ego.
His first six years in the league were as a member of the expansion Toronto Raptors where he averaged 23 points per game. And Vince knew how to get the highlight reels working. Undoubtedly, his tenure with the Raptors had an impact on the Toronto youngsters from that time period (ditto British Columbia’s Steve Nash).
The fans in Toronto were rough on Carter after he left the team, booing him every time he touched the ball when he returned as a member of the New Jersey Nets. But it would have been nice to see him as a member of the Toronto Raptors during their current journey. he spent 2018-19 season—and seasons before—playing the role of mentor to some of the Atlanta Hawks’ young, talented players, a role he seemed quite comfortable with.
KEEP ‘EM COMING
Factories move all the time, and evidently the same goes for basketball factories. Over time we’ve seen places like Seattle, Washington and Atlanta, Georgia compete with larger cities in the U.S. where producing top college and professional-level talent is concerned, and in recent years, Toronto has definitely made a positive mark. The performance of the Toronto Raptors can only help the city’s standing basketball-wise, and it looks like more talent is coming down south in the coming years as the city’s basketball renaissance continues.
Welcome.
Photo by Ferdinand Stöhr on Unsplash
