The Toronto Raptors have fallen on hard times this season, but that in no way takes away from the fact that they had been one of the league’s most consistent franchises during the 2010s, culminating in an NBA championship in 2019. One of the names most important to that era of the Raptors was guard and sixth man Lou Williams.
Williams arrived in Toronto during the 2014 offseason in a trade with the Atlanta Hawks. The Raptors received Williams and Lucas Nogueria for John Salmons. Williams play had steadily declined in Atlanta and his trade to the Raptors was not seen as one that would change the game for either side.
But magic happened when Williams got to Toronto. He put together one of his best seasons as a pro and helped the Raptors to a 49-33 record and a postseason berth. He was rewarded for his effort with his first Sixth Man of the Year award.
And looking back on how his career unfolded, he credits his time in Toronto as the reason he was able to have a second life in the NBA, via the Club520 podcast:
“When I got to Toronto, I had that in the back of my mind like this might be the end of the road. For me, that was my 11th or 12th year in the league. I had a full career at that point, and I felt really good about the things I was able to accomplish. I thought Toronto was going to be my last year. I told them that this is going to be my last year, I’m going to play it out, and then Kyle Lowry, DeMar DeRozan, Amir Johnson, Chuck Hayes say, ‘If this is gonna be your last year, you gotta go out swinging, we gonna feed you the ball, just have fun, and just do your thing. That’s what they did, they supported me, wrapped their arms around me. I think Toronto being out of the country saved my career because it kept me away from a lot of distractions.”
To go from believing it would be his final season in the NBA to what ended up happening is an incredible journey. Williams would go on to play another seven seasons, finishing in the top three of Sixth Man of the Year voting four more times and winning the award twice more.
And it’s a wonderful thing for the Raptors to be able to say they helped revitalize Williams’ career, as he is one of the most beloved scorers of the 2010’s.
Darko Rajakovic hopes Jalen McDaniels can figure things out
Things have not gone to plan for Jalen McDaniels with the Toronto Raptors. The team signed McDaniels this past offseason to a two-year, $9.3 million deal.
The Raptors were hoping the 26-year-old was going to be a nice piece in the second unit, but he has been the complete opposite of that. He has struggled to find any sort of rhythm to his game and has been borderline unplayable at times.
Despite his struggles though, head coach Darko Rajakovic is still confident that McDaniels can turn it around for Toronto.
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