3 Facts about the Toronto Raptors that I guarantee will blow your mind
By Jim James
The Toronto Raptors are an organization that have had its ups and downs over the years. From Damon Stoudamire to Vince Carter to Chris Bosh to DeMar DeRozan to Kawhi Leonard to Kyle Lowry to Pascal Siakam, this team has a short but storied history that includes a ring. There are some facts that will blow your mind however, about the teams that you never knew. Here are a few
- Fred Vanvleet averaged more points last season (20.1) than Steve Nash, John Stockton, Jason Kidd, Manu Ginobili, Chauncey Billups, Robert Parish, and Bill Russell ever did
Duh, I don’t think that Freddie was better than these guys, but the recent scoring boom did this. Sure, these guys weren’t primarily known for scoring, but none of them ever averaged 20 points per game for a season. Fred VanVleet did. Taking a role with Kyle Lowry and Pascal Siakam last season, Fred VanVleet was still one of the Toronto Raptors’ primary scorers. With the scoring increase, more players are scoring more and 30 is the new 20, and 20 is the new 15. 20 points per game used to be surefire all star, but you don’t see Fred VanVleet, Terry Rozier, or Brook Lopez involved in All Star debates.
- The Toronto Raptors are the only team in NBA history to win a championship with zero lottery picks
OG Anunoby: 23rd
Chris Boucher: Undrafted
Lorenzo Brown: 52nd
Marc Gasol: 48th
Danny Green: 46th
Serge Ibaka: 24th
Kawhi Leonard: 15th
Jeremy Lin: Undrafted
Kyle Lowry: 24th
Jordan Lloyd: Undrafted
Patrick McCaw: 38th
Jodie Meeks: 41st
CJ Miles: 34th
Malcolm Miller: Undrafted
Eric Moreland: Undrafted
Norman Powell: 46th
Malachi Richardson: 22nd
Pascal Siakam: 27th
Fred VanVleet: Undrafted
Note: We did have 2 lottery selections in Jonas Valanciunas and Greg Monroe this year, but they weren’t on the team that won the Championship.
Not a single lottery selection as far as the eye can see. The only team to have done this.
- Out of 21 expansion teams since 1961, the Raptors are 5th fastest to win a championship
The Raptors are the 5th fastest expansion team to win a championship, only behind the Heat (7 years), Spurs (23 years), Sonics (11 years), and Blazers (7 years). There is close competition with the Rockets and Dallas Mavericks winning it in their 26th years, but that gets us in the top 23% (yeah, i used a calculator).
That is the post, I hope I taught you something today, this is Jim James signing off.