Doug Smith - We the North : Canadas Team: 25 Years of the Toronto Raptors

by Vince Carter

It was a head-scratcher on draft night in 1998 when my North Carolina Tar Heel teammate Antawn Jamison was selected fourth overall by the Toronto Raptors. I knew he hadnt worked out for them, so it didnt make any sense. Before I had a chance to even figure out what was going on, my name was called and I was walking up to the stage to shake commissioner David Sterns hand. I had been drafted by the Golden State Warriors.

As I was talking about my draft-day photo with Stern on stage, he told me to wait because there was going to be a trade. Antawn was going to the Warriors. I was going to the Raptors. Just like that, I was going from the West Coast to Canada in a matter of five minutes.

I had worked out with the Raptors, but outside of the two days I spent there for draft workouts, I knew nothing about Toronto. Immediately after the trade happened, I talked to Tracy McGrady on draft night. Just the year before, T-Mac and I found out we were cousins. Now, we were professional teammates.

The lockout hit after the draft and I didnt arrive in Toronto until January. The first day I landed, I was walking through a blizzard. I was like, What in the world? Im a Florida kid, now coming to a place where it was unbelievably cold. Coming from Chapel Hill, one of the meccas for college basketball, to where we were second fiddle to the Toronto Maple Leafs, which, no pun intended, were the big stick in the city.

We were trying to make our way, to teach the fans the game, and we gave the fans something to be excited about. Oh, by the way, what else do I remember about Toronto? Extra-friendly people. Everyone was just super friendly.

At the time, I had no idea what influence we would have on basketball in Canada. I was a young guy, playing with my cousin, and we were just having fun and enjoying the moment. At one point, Im not going to lie, T-Mac and I had it on lock. We were out there trying to embarrass and dunk on people. I was young. I didnt understand the impact I was having on the young five- or six-year-old who was attending a Raptors game. I had no clue.

Social media wasnt a thing. You definitely didnt know how much of an impact you had. Now, you can just look at your feed, your mentions, and you can see the impact. The jerseys. The videos of kids re-enacting your dunk. We didnt get an opportunity to see that.

I still remember the day I found out I was traded by the Raptors. It was a weird day. I was in Indiana and woke up from a nap after morning shootaround to a bunch of messages on my phone telling me I had been traded. Then I was sitting with Alvin Williams, Jalen Rose, and Milt Palacio. We said our goodbyes before they went to the arena for the game. I was sitting in my hotel not knowing how to feel. I didnt know how to handle it.

Looking back on it, it was tough. The toughest thing to handle was that people questioned my love for the city of Toronto and the game. It was tough at the time to tell my side or to prove to people. It just had to organically happen over time. I believe that time heals all wounds. Once people gained more knowledge of the situation, it helped smooth things over.

I always wanted people to know that the night I was traded, the next day, and the days after that, I didnt have any ill feelings over the team and the city. I loved the city. Its unfortunate whoever put that out there. They were so far wrong. I remember Doug Smith wanted to have a feature conversation about all of that at the time, to shed some light on the actual situation, but it just wasnt the right time. And I understood that.

So did Doug. It probably sounds weird to say this because a lot of athletes and media arent really one with each other all the time, but Doug was a guy I gravitated to over the years. I got to know him, and through having conversations with him, we developed a trust. Even after I moved on from Toronto, we kept in touch, and through all the ugliness of my departure from the Raptors, we talked. Doug understood me as well as my teammates did.

Thats rare in sports. For athletes, trust is always tough, and trusting the media is even more of a sensitive fine line. But over our six years together in Toronto, we became friends. Doug understood my ups and downs, he understood my moods, and we approached each other with respect and in the right way. Maybe Im biased because Ive gotten to know him over the years, but I know that the things I say will be the things that come out, and theyre in good hands when I say them to Doug.

Flash forward to June 2019. I was in Toronto again for a playoff game for the first time since I played in a Raptors jersey. It was Game 5 of the NBA finals. I was sitting with T-Mac. It was insane. I had chills that night. The Raptors lost, but I remember sitting there after the game and telling T-Mac, Imagine if they win the championship, how crazy would that be?

I was in Oakland for Game 6. The evening the Raptors clinched their first NBA championship. It was unbelievable. In the second half, I looked at T-Mac and we were like, They are really about to win the championship. The Toronto Raptors. This team we played for so many years ago.

It was a proud moment for me to witness it and be in the building for it. To see my good friend Kyle Lowry and people in the Raptors organization who I still know, I was so happy for all of them. To leave the arena, we had to walk through the court after the game. I gave Kyle a big hug and congratulated him. I saw my friend superfan Nav Bhatia, who was on another level on the court.

It was awesome to see all the Raptors fans celebrating. I was happy to be there just to witness it, just to say that I was there. It was a special moment.

For me, it was a way to bring it all full circle.

Vince Carter