On February 13, US time, after the Orlando Magic retired Shaquille O’Neal’s jersey number, the Los Angeles Clippers and the Toronto Raptors became the only NBA teams that did not retire their jersey numbers. The author wants to use this article to discuss with you the possible candidates for the future retirement jerseys of these two teams.
On February 13, US time, the Orlando Magic officially retired Shaquille O’Neal’s No. 32 jersey. This is the first time in the Magic’s 35 years of existence that a player’s jersey number has been retired. Today, among the NBA teams, only the Toronto Raptors and Los Angeles Clippers have not retired players’ jersey numbers (Bill Russell’s No. 6 jersey is not included). However, there are also many star players and even future Hall of Fame stars playing for both teams. Perhaps in the near future we will be able to see them hanging their jersey numbers high above their home courts.
In 1995, the NBA decided to expand its territory to Canada and established the Toronto Raptors and Vancouver Grizzlies. In the 2001-2002 season, the Grizzlies moved to Memphis, United States. Since then, the Raptors have become the only Canadian team in the league.
Looking back on the nearly 30 years of team history, they have reached the playoffs in 14 seasons and won 7 group championships. Having advanced to at least the second round of the playoffs for five consecutive seasons from 2015 to 2020, and winning the first championship in team history in 2019, the Raptors can be said to have maintained a certain degree of competitiveness in the Eastern Conference for many years.
When talking about which stars’ jerseys have the chance to be retired by the Raptors in the future, the author believes that the stars can be classified into the following three levels for discussion:
1. Influence: Vince Carter
When it comes to the most iconic player in Raptors history, Air Canada – Vince Carter is second, but no one dares to say first. Carter entered the NBA in 1998 and became the team’s top star. The first Raptors player to be selected to the All-Star Game (he was selected to the All-Star Game five times in six seasons with the Raptors, four of which were the vote-winners), the first time in team history to reach the playoffs and the first series. Victory, he completed many firsts for the Raptors, and it was also the reason why many fans recognized this new team for the first time that year.
Although Carter only played for the Raptors for less than seven seasons, he failed to lead the team in cumulative statistics. However, his impact on a country that was originally only interested in ice hockey can be said to have transcended the game level. Today, many young players from Canada who are active in the NBA all cite Vince Carter as the reason why they started playing basketball.
For example, Jamal Murray, the second head coach of the Golden Nuggets, once said: “When I was a kid, I would watch Vince’s dunks on VCR and try to imitate those actions on the basket in my room. For me, seeing him is better than seeing Kobe or LeBron. It’s even more exciting because he’s so special to us.”
As time passed, Carter and the Raptors also let go of the unpleasantness they felt when leaving the team. Whether it was the tribute video when he returned to Toronto late in his career or the tribute event where Carter was invited to the scene during the 2019 championship game, it can be seen that the entire city and the team have always remembered the good things and contributions he brought. Recently, Carter has also been confirmed as a finalist for the 2024 Basketball Hall of Fame. Perhaps the No. 15 jersey will be hanging over Scotiabank Arena in the near future.
2. Fulfillment: Kawhi Leonard & Kyle Lowry
Credit: Jesse D. Garrabrant/Getty Images
In the summer of 2018, the Raptors sent DeMar DeRozan to the Spurs for Kawhi Leonard in an attempt to end their years of inability to break out of the Eastern Conference. In 2019, with the cooperation of Kawhi and Lowry, the Raptors advanced all the way despite being underdogs, and finally successfully won the Gold Cup.
If the most impressive individual playoff performance of the 2010s was Dirk Nowitzki in 2011, then Kawhi in 2019 is definitely the closest. In the playoffs that year, Lovely averaged 30.5 points, 9.1 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 1.7 steals with a field goal percentage of .490. In the second round of the playoffs, he made a classic zero-second buzzer-beater. After killing Antetokounmpo alone in the Eastern Conference Championship Game, he only had a shooting percentage of .300. He led the team to complete a comeback from two to four. In the end, he defeated the Bay Area Army who was seeking three consecutive championships in the championship game and won the Gold Cup.
Some fans may question that although Kawhi led the team to win the championship, he only stayed with the Raptors for one season. However, looking back at the retired stars who have won FMVP since 1990, all of them had their jersey numbers retired by the team that won the championship at the time (the 2015 FMVP-Andre Iguodala who retired last year), the Warriors have also stated that they plan to His No. 9 jersey was retired). Moreover, this championship is the only one the Toronto Raptors have so far. The author believes that Kawhi Leonard, who is the biggest contributor, deserves this honor.
2024-02-20 13:57:15
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