Toronto Raptors basketball was non-existent for a long time. There was more booing than cheering, the word “retooling” became too familiar, and games rarely gathered genuine excitement.
That was their identity, or lack thereof.
I went to my first Raptors game at the age of 13. Toronto had a good team that year, they won 47 games and finished first in the Atlantic Division. The Raps were hosting the Denver Nuggets at Air Canada Centre, a hot team with Carmelo Anthony and Allen Iverson on the roster. Coming from a small town in Eastern Canada the idea of walking into an arena that held 20,000 people was enough to excite me. I walked into the arena from Union Station and thought: “Why are people wearing Toronto Maple Leafs jerseys?” I saw over a dozen people wearing the white and blue to the game that day. The Raptors were a second-tier team in Toronto.
From 2006-2008 Toronto was winning. Chris Bosh was leading the show with an entertaining cast behind him. Sam Mitchell won NBA Coach of the Year and Brian Colangelo won Executive of the Year. But it never felt real, fans didn’t truly believe those Bosh-led teams could be successful. Toronto was missing something: stability.
And just like that, the NBA’s Coach of the Year was gone. Fired only 17 games into the 2008-2009 season.
That was just the beginning of what would be years of disappointment for Toronto.
The Raptors experiment with six-time all-star Jermaine O’Neal was failing. The Raps dealt him for Shawn Marion of the Miami Heat just prior to the 2009 all-star break.
Then came the Hedo Turkoglu catastrophe. For those who aren’t familiar, Turkoglu was coming off an impressive season with the Orlando Magic when Toronto swooped in and signed him. Dedicating a full-page ad to the team’s website, they were overjoyed to say the least. The actual acquisition of Turkoglu was by far the climax of his time in a Dino’s uniform. One incident sums up his time in T.Dot fairly well. After leaving a game at halftime due to a stomach virus, he was spotted out on the town partying just hours later. He was traded after one season with the team.
The 2010-2011 season was as ugly as it gets; finishing 14th place in the East with only 22 wins. “The Decision” had stripped the Raptors of its franchise guy, and without Bosh, Toronto was back at square one.
Despite a lockout during the 2011-2012 season, Raps fans were beginning to get excited again. Prior to the season they had hired Dwane Casey and were riding high on young talent DeMar DeRozan. This is where the turnaround begins, although the results weren’t seen for two more seasons. Casey, an assistant on the Dallas Mavericks championship team, was about to teach Raptors players something foreign to them: defense. Toronto finished 30th in points allowed the year before and were in desperate need of a coach who could tighten that up. But even with the excitement, Toronto still found itself on the outside looking in. On draft night Colangelo would be ridiculed for drafting Jonas Valanciunas. Fans were fed up with the selection of another “foreigner” who was a year away from playing in the league.
With another high draft pick, Toronto selected Terrance Ross from the University of Washington. The summer prior to the 2012-2013 season, Kyle Lowry was brought over from the Houston Rockets for a first round pick. Little did they know, but not landing Steve Nash may have been the best thing for the organization long-term. With a core of Lowry, DeRozan, Valanciunas, Ross, Casey, and new general manager Masai Ujiri – Toronto was ready to win.
With no expectations to succeed, the Raptors were one trade away from success or failure. Ujiri picked success. In a mid-season deal, the GM would package Rudy Gay to the Sacramento Kings for a collection of players including Greivis Vasquez, Patrick Patterson and Chuck Hayes. The losses quickly turned to wins and by the all-star break Toronto was looking like a playoff team for the first time in years. The season came to an end at the hands of the Brooklyn Nets in Game 7 of the first round. It was hard to swallow, but for a team with no expectations, it was pretty darn good. That same year Drake became the global ambassador and #WeTheNorth was born.
Finally, the Raptors had an identity.
An identity they carried into the 2014-2015 season. With a veteran like Amir Johnson and signings such as Lou Williams and James Johnson, the roster is deeper than ever before.
Prior to a game in Detroit against the Pistons Friday, thousands of Raptors fans throughout the Palace could be heard singing the Canadian National Anthem. Landry Fields thanked the fans for coming out and said: “Hands down, best fans in the league.”
The ACC sells out each game. It’s not your traditional NBA atmosphere, it has a collegiate feel to it. Simply put, Raptors fans are some of the best/craziest in the association.
For the first time in a long time, there are expectations to succeed, to be the best in the Atlantic, and for some to be the best in the East. So far, those expectations have been met.
Toronto has had an easy schedule thus far, but regardless, a 22-6 record doesn’t just happen with a lot of home games. Perhaps the true test for this team will come over the next six games, all on the road against tough competition. They haven’t been challenged yet, now they are. The trip begins Monday in Chicago and doesn’t conclude until Jan. 4 in Phoenix.
With DeRozan nursing a groin injury, role players are needed to step up during the six-game stretch. But adversity builds character, and Toronto has dealt with a lot of adversity.
This road trip matters, a lot. In the words of Raptors color analyst Jack Armstrong: “Just win baby!”
It’s been a roller coaster ride for the franchise over the last decade, but eventually the ride has to lift off the ground. They’ve paid their dues, now it’s their time.
Brett Poirier is a contributor to Sheridan Hoops. Follow @BrettNBA