One of the most notable role players during the 2010’s for the Toronto Raptors was forward C.J. Miles. He earned the reputation of being a dependable bench scorer, specifically from the 3-point line.
Miles would be a part of a sign-and-trade in 2017 with the Indiana Pacers, where he signed a three-year, $25 million contract with the Toronto Raptors.
The forward appeared on the Run Your Race podcast, where he shared a story about a Raptors fan recognizing him right after he signed with Toronto:
“It’s beautiful, you’ve got a whole country behind you. You’ve got great fan bases in the league but it’s not a country. The city, they embraced me. I remember the first day I got there, I hadn’t even put a jersey on… we were going to do something. You know how you’re running around, the first day you [sign]? I remember just getting out of the car and getting run up on [by a fan]… It was crazy. I was like, bruh, I JUST got here.”
Miles is not the only player to speak fondly of their time with the Raptors as Lou Williams, Stanley Johnson and Yuta Watanabe all loved their time in Toronto. When Miles arrived, he was trying to help Toronto get over the top.
In his first year, 2017-18, the Raptors were 59-23 and finished first in the Eastern Conference. This was the best regular season record in franchise history. Despite getting swept in the second round by LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers, Miles was a part of something special.
DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry led the charge for the Raptors team and were able to give the city of Toronto something to be proud of. Miles would spend a season and a half with the Raptors before being traded.
He was included in the Marc Gasol trade, where he would go on to play for the Memphis Grizzlies.
Miles’ stats as a Raptor
While it was a short tenure for Miles, he was a solid contributor on the Raptors bench.
In 110 games with Toronto, Miles averaged 8.3 points, 2.0 rebounds and 0.7 assists in 17.3 minutes a contest.
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