The history of the Toronto Raptors as a franchise is certainly not as long as that of most NBA teams. The New York Knicks can trace their lineage back to the beginning of the league. The Los Angeles Lakers played in Minneapolis, the Sacramento Kings played in CIncinnati, and the Los Angeles Clippers played in Buffalo, New York. The Raptors started playing less than 30 years ago.
That’s not to say there haven’t been some absolute stars on the team, and even more players who have had a significant impact on the franchise over the past three decades. While there’s been a lot of talk about statues lately, including the unveiling of the (first) Kobe Bryant statue last month, it’s reasonable to ask: who deserves to have a statue in front of Scotiabank Arena ?
Let’s focus on a few honorable mentions that probably won’t make the cut. Kawhi Leonard led the Toronto Raptors to their only title in franchise history and has a strong case for having the “best” season of any player in franchise history. Even so, a season doesn’t get you a statue, no matter how great that season is.
Damon Stoudemire was the Raptors’ first star and still holds a special place in the hearts of many early fans. Despite this, he didn’t play in Toronto long enough or accomplish enough to be considered here. It’s a similar case for Chris Bosh who played on largely losing teams following Vince Carter’s departure and was great individually, but then left for the Miami Heat.
The most serious omission is DeMar DeRozan, who is still the franchise leader in a number of statistics, including games, minutes, field goals, free throws and total points. At the same time, it’s hard to argue with the fact that his playoff weaknesses held the team back, and only after trading him (admittedly for a superstar in Kawhi Leonard) did they have reached their full potential.
Let’s look at three players who ultimately deserve a statue, starting with one obvious selection and then discussing two more complicated selections.
