Patrick Patterson deserves a little more respect.
The former Toronto Raptors forward received a tribute from Pascal Siakam in a video shared on social media Wednesday. The post mentioned Patterson’s importance to Toronto’s young core when Siakam made his league debut during the 2016-17 season for the Raptors.
“For me, Pat was my vet, I would say,” Siakam said. in the post“He just took us in, like a young man passing by, like we were going out today, a young man passing by, we were going to dinner. For me, he showed us the way.”
DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry have long been credited as the leaders of those surging Raptors teams in the second half of the 2010s, but Siakam said Patterson, Jared Sullinger and other unsung heroes also deserve credit.
“They’ve played in the league, they know what it’s like. There’s always guys that teach you the game,” Siakam said. “There’s little things that you wouldn’t know if nobody told you, just little etiquette things, like how to move and seeing Kyle and DeMar come in early in the morning, they work hard every day, no matter what they’ve done, no matter what it is.”
When Kawhi Leonard arrived in 2018, his leadership by example struck Siakam. Leonard wasn’t exactly a vocal leader, but his hard work was undeniable, Siakam said.
“I think for me, there’s people that lead by example, there’s people that come out and talk, there’s just different leaders and I’ve had throughout my career,” Siakam said.
Siakam was always a quiet leader during his time with the Raptors. He was a hard worker in Toronto, arriving early and staying late, hoping his work ethic would rub off on his younger teammates. That was in contrast to Fred VanVleet, who led Toronto as a more vocal leader after Kyle Lowry left.
