Tag: Toronto Raptors

LeBron James had hilarious reaction to fan who encouraged his triple-double

This was such a funny move by LeBron.

Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James needed just one more rebound to record his second consecutive triple-double.

With two minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, the 39-year-old star pulled down his tenth board of the game against the Toronto Raptors. Immediately after grabbing the rebound, the four-time NBA Finals MVP pointed at a fan who was watching the game.

James was clearly aware of his accomplishment, which actually marked the second game in a row that he was able to achieve as much. But it seemed the fan was fully aware of what just happened as well.

After the game, James was asked about the exchange with the fan.

He spoke candidly about what happened in that moment.

According to James, the fan yelled “one more rebound” which got his attention.

So when he was done cleaning the glass, James made sure that he acknowledged that he was listening.

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Cooper Flagg must join the NBA’s Eastern Conference to balance out the league

The NBA NEEDS Cooper Flagg in the Eastern Conference.

With all due respect to fans of woeful NBA teams like the Utah Jazz and Portland Trail Blazers, it’s time we have a frank conversation. And I apologize for how it will exclude your totally valid (but, to me, ultimately tertiary) needs as diehard supporters of your respective favorite teams.

The NBA’s latest truly generational draft prospect, Duke’s Cooper Flagg, must play in the Eastern Conference when he likely jumps to the league in the summer of 2025. Full stop.

There are no ifs, ands, or buts about it, either.

If we want to have a truly healthy and balanced NBA, throwing another potential franchise superstar like Flagg into an already-stacked West is a dire scenario for the league. The sheer talent disparity between the two conferences — the West has had more All-NBA players every season for 26 straight years — is already way too glaring.

The East’s embarrassingly slow start to the 2024-2025 season only confirms as much. It’s still a small sample size (less than 10 games into the year at the time of this writing), but here are some eye-opening early numbers to keep in mind if you’re one of those people who’d like to see Flagg play somewhere West of the Rocky Mountains:

  • Only two East teams, the Cleveland Cavaliers and Boston Celtics, currently have a winning record. That’s right. Quite literally, everyone else outside of Cleveland and Boston in the East is straddling the line at .500 or lower. Yikes.
  • Eight of the NBA’s 10 best records so far belong to Western Conference teams. Eight. EIGHT.
  • The West, itself, is winning over 70 percent of its games head-to-head with the East so far. That’s roughly a 57-win pace over an 82-game season, by the way. A real ho-hum kind of dominance.
  • The East, itself, is also being heavily dragged down by the struggling Philadelphia 76ers and Milwaukee Bucks, who were supposed to be bellwethers as conference heavyweights. From injuries and age to good old-fashioned bad luck, these two teams are instead mired at the bottom of the standings. Tough scene.

I know it’s tempting to say we’ll appreciate someone with Flagg’s unique all-around abilities wherever he plays. Which, sure. That’s part of the deal we make as sports fans. Sometimes, it’s just about sitting back and appreciating the show talented athletes can put on.

You take what you can get. I understand.

Still, this massive disparity between the NBA’s East and West simply cannot continue. Flagg and the San Antonio Spurs’ Victor Wembanyama are/were considered two of the best draft prospects in the league in years. For both of them to play on Western teams in a conference where, for example, a 50-win team was the fifth seed last season (a 50-win team was the No. 2 seed in the East) would be an unmitigated disaster for competitive balance.

Western teams already tear each other apart all year. Meanwhile, the 2-3 squads fighting at the top of the East get to be on cruise control as they please. A possible superstar like Flagg going West would just make it even worse. It’s not tenable or sustainable for players or fans of Western teams. (The conference really needs more “nights off,” if you know what I mean!)

The East needs an injection of potential all-time youth and talent. Badly.

So, this is my message to fans of fledgling squads like the Washington Wizards and Toronto Raptors. I’m really rooting for you.

Go capture that Flagg.

The NBA’s interconference competitive balance might depend on it.

Vince Carter earns retirement gift, Raptors to honor him this weekend

It’s a good weekend to be Vince Carter.

When it comes to the best dunkers in basketball history, who are some names that come to mind?

For me, it’s former UNC standout Vince Carter, who truly developed himself into a star at the professional level.

Carter played at North Carolina for three seasons (1995-1996, 1996-1997, 1997-1998), helping his teammates make the Final Four twice. Carter averaged 12.3 points per game across his three years as a Tar Heel, highlighted by a career best 15.6 PPG in his final season.

Drafted fifth overall in the 1998 NBA Draft, Carter played 22 seasons with eight different teams, most notably his first six-and-a-half with the Toronto Raptors. Eight All-Star nods later and 21st on the NBA All-Time scoring list, Carter earned himself a 2024 Hall of Fame induction.

As a thank you for Carter’s service to the city of Toronto, Air Canada is also gifting Carter an A-220 aircraft – complete with his 15 on the side.

On Saturday, Nov. 2, Toronto will be also retiring Carter’s legendary number 15 during its game against the Los Angeles Lakers.

https://www.instagram.com/p/DB1op1RPpr4/?img_index=1

Carter’s jersey retirement also marks a historical moment, with his 15 the first number to be retired in Raptors’ franchise history.

Carter is arguably one of the greatest professional basketball players to never win a championship – or make one. Carter’s 2010 season with the Orlando Magic was the closest he got, as Orlando advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals, before losing to the now reigning NBA Finals champion Boston Celtics.

In 2000-2001 with Toronto, Carter averaged a career-best 27.6 points per game. This was one of Carter’s 10 seasons averaging a minimum 20 points per game, showcasing how efficient of a scorer he was.

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DeMar DeRozan doesn’t think the Raptors needed Kawhi Leonard to win an NBA title in 2019

DeMar DeRozan thinks Toronto would have won if he was never traded.

While promoting his new book Above the Noise, DeMar DeRozan spoke about the trade that sent him from the Toronto Raptors to the San Antonio Spurs.

DeRozan, who began his career playing for the Raptors, enjoyed tremendous success playing alongside Kyle Lowry in Toronto. But after multiple All-Star appearances and late appearances in the postseason, the front office opted to trade DeRozan in exchange for Kawhi Leonard before the 2018-19 season.

The Raptors went on to win the 2019 NBA Championship, which was their first in franchise history. But on ESPN’s First Take, Stephen A. Smith asked an interesting question.

Smith argued that at that time in Toronto’s franchise, the only team that the Raptors seemed to struggle against were LeBron James’ Cleveland Cavaliers.

He wondered if the Raptors would have still won a title in 2019 if they still had DeRozan, not Leonard, as James left the Eastern Conference to sign with the Los Angeles Lakers.

It seemed DeRozan agreed with the theory, stating the following:

“Never to discredit those guys. They won it. They deserve it. I finally had got to a point where I was happy for them. But for sure. I definitely feel like that. The only person we couldn’t beat was LeBron. That’s just what it was. I felt off the year we had before, we just needed one more piece to kind of push us over the top. That piece came to be LeBron going to the West and I didn’t get an opportunity to see what would have happened. But the upmost confident in myself, I have no doubt in my mind the same outcome would have happened.”

Good for DeRozan to have the confidence in himself to truly believe this.

He is right: The only team that stood in his way was the Cavaliers and with James in the Western Conference on the Lakers that season, this was finally DeRozan’s shot to win it all. Instead, however, it was Leonard who won NBA Finals MVP in 2019.

Of course, it may have been a lot tougher for the Raptors to defeat the Philadelphia 76ers (who were juggernaut that season as well) without Leonard playing.

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Former Ohio State hoops star Jamison Battle signs with the Toronto Raptors

Congrats Jamison! #GoBucks

Although Ohio State basketball forward, [autotag]Jamison Battle[/autotag], didn’t hear his name being called during the NBA draft, that didn’t deter him from trying to achieve his dream.

An opportunity to play on the Toronto Raptors summer league team was presented to him, and the lefty didn’t disappoint. Through two games Battle shot 66.7% from beyond the arc, showing his new team that he can play at this level.

The performance by Battle was enough to push the Raptors to lock him up with an undisclosed deal with the team that gave him a shot. It’s not the traditional way to get an NBA contract, but it’s doubtful that it matters at this point.

Congrats to Jamison, as he is getting his NBA journey started with all of Buckeye Nation following along.

Contact/Follow @BuckeyesWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Ohio State news, notes and opinion. Follow Michael Chen on X. 

Several Thunder players attend OKC’s summer league loss to Raptors

Several Thunder players attend OKC’s summer league loss to Raptors.

After three games in Utah, the Oklahoma City Thunder flew to Las Vegas to join the rest of the league for the more traditional summer league.

They were flat in their first contest with a 94-69 loss to the Toronto Raptors, but several Thunder players were in attendance for the showing.

Chet Holmgren, Jalen Williams, Cason Wallace and Isaiah Hartenstein made their way to their seats to watch their teammates play. The Thunder have a pair of rookies in the contests with Dillon Jones and Ajay Mitchell.

Jones finished with 17 points on 7-of-15 shooting, seven rebounds and two assists in 29 minutes. He shot 2-of-4 from 3.

Mitchell tallied 15 points on 6-of-18 shooting, three assists, three rebounds and three steals in 30 minutes. He shot 2-of-5 from 3.

“It was crazy because I didn’t really notice them until the end of the game,” Jones said on his teammates’ presence. “It’s crazy those are technically my teammates and brothers now. It’s still a crazy feeling because of their stature and who they are as players.”

Holmgren and Williams get to enjoy summer league from the sidelines this year. Both participated in the event for the last two years. They’ve graduated from the July exhibitions.

The Thunder have a few more games left in their summer league schedule. Holmgren and Williams used the first contest in Las Vegas to support their new teammates.

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Former UNC and NBA standout Vince Carter named cover athlete for popular video game

If you pick up a copy of the NBA 2K25 Hall of Fame Edition, you’ll recognize the cover athlete.

Outside of the late Kobe Bryant, I can’t think of a better basketball dunker than former North Carolina Tar Heel and longtime NBA veteran Vince Carter.

UNC was treated to three seasons of the high-flying Carter, who took UNC to the 1997 and 1998 Final Fours. He came off the bench for 12 games during his freshman season (1995-1996), then started all 72 games over his final two seasons, averaging a career-best 15.6 points per contest during his junior campaign (second Final Four run).

Carter truly cemented his basketball legacy in the NBA, starting with his 1999 Rookie of the Year award, as a Toronto Raptor.. He’d shortly after become an 8-time All-Star (2000-2007), average a minimum 20 points per game (regular-season career-best 27.6 in 2000-2001, playoffs career-high 29.6 in 2006) across 10 separate seasons, plus win the 2000 NBA Dunk Contest – all while playing for eight separate franchises.

To no one’s surprise, Carter is a 2024 inductee for the Naismith Hall of Fame. That’s not the only big news Carter recently received, though.

On Wednesday, Carter was announced as the cover athlete for NBA 2K25’s Hall of Fame Edition.

If you’re a gamer like myself, the Carter news has to excite you. You might also be wondering – how does the Hall of Fame Edition differ from the standard edition of NBA 2K?

Sports games tend to offer you gameplay opportunities with historic teams. If that’s the case, you should easily be able to play as Carter.

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Raptors sign No. 57 pick Ulrich Chomche to two-way contract

Ulrich Chomche, the 57th pick in the 2024 NBA draft, signed a two-way contract with the Raptors on Wednesday.

Cameroon native Ulrich Chomche, the 57th pick in the 2024 NBA draft, signed a two-way contract with the Toronto Raptors, the team announced on Wednesday.

Chomche, 18, was previously with the NBA Academy Africa in Senegal and the Basketball Africa League. He made 26 appearances this past season with the program, averaging 8.5 points and 8.5 rebounds in 24.3 minutes per game.

The 6-foot-11 center became the first player from the NBA Academy Africa to be drafted and the first player to be drafted directly out of any of the academies (Global, Latin). He is the sixth NBA Academy graduate to be selected in the draft.

Chomche, the youngest player in the draft, was a standout at the G League Winter Showcase in December. He also competed with Team World at the Nike Hoop Summit in April, recording four points, four rebounds, three blocked shots and one assist in a loss to Team USA.

He declared for the draft in April and participated in the combine in May in Chicago, Illinois, recording five points and four rebounds in one scrimmage game. He also registered the fourth-fastest shuttle run time among all participants (2.84 seconds).

Chomche will split his time between Toronto and the Raptors 905 in the G League. He is eligible to be active for up to 50 games in the NBA and will earn a flat salary equal to 50% of the minimum salary applicable to a player with zero years of service.

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Pascal Siakam accidentally thanked the Raptors for his new Pacers deal in very funny blooper

Whoops!

While talking about his brand-new contract with the Indiana Pacers in a press conference, NBA star forward Pascal Siakam accidentally thanked the wrong team.

In a very funny blooper, Siakam mistakenly thanked the Toronto Raptors, his old NBA team, for giving him a new contract before quickly correcting himself to thanking the Pacers for signing him to be a part of their future.

It’s a very innocent slip of the tongue, but it’s still a really fun clip to play.

If you’re a Toronto fan and you miss Siakam, well, you can hear him mention the Raptors in earnest one last time as he transitions into a future with Indy.

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No. 31 pick Jonathan Mogbo signs 3-year contract with Raptors

The Raptors have reportedly signed Jonathan Mogbo, the 31st pick in the draft, to a three-year contract.

The Toronto Raptors have reportedly signed Jonathan Mogbo, the 31st pick in the 2024 NBA draft, to a three-year, $6.11 million contract, according to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype.

Mogbo was named to the All-WCC first team after averaging 14.2 points, 10.1 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.6 steals on 63.6% shooting from the field at San Francisco. He ranked 10th in the country in field-goal percentage and was one of 16 players to average a double-double.

The 6-foot-7 forward was named the West Coast Conference Newcomer of the Year. He registered five 20-point games, including a season-high 30 points, 18 rebounds, three assists, one steal and one block on Jan. 4 in a win over Pacific.

Mogbo had a tremendous predraft process to establish himself as an early second-round pick. He is highly touted as a scorer and projects to be a good rim-roller and lob threat, given his athleticism and size at 6 feet, 6 inches and 217 pounds.

The 22-year-old is expected to suit up with the Raptors in the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas, Nevada. They will play at least five games, starting on July 13 against the Oklahoma City Thunder at the Pavilion (8:30 p.m. EDT, NBA TV).

He will likely be joined by fellow draft picks Ja’Kobe Walter (20th pick) and Jamal Shead (45th pick), and undrafted free agents Branden Carlson and Joe Girard III, among others.

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