Yes, we know that this is taking a while!
As many of you know, we at Notinhalloffame.com are slowly generating the top 50 of each major North American sports team. That being said, we have existing Top 50 lists and consistently look to update them when necessary and based on necessity. As such, we are delighted to present our post-2023-24 revision of our top 50 Toronto Raptors.
As for all of our top 50 players in basketball, we look at the following:
1. Advanced Statistics.
2. Traditional statistics and how they finished in the National Basketball Association.
3. Playoff accomplishments.
4. Their overall impact on the team and other intangibles that are not reflected in a stat sheet.
Last year, the Raptors went all out, as in jettisoning all players out. That was an exaggeration, but beyond Scottie Barnes, there were not many reasons to watch a Toronto game. Nevertheless, there were a few elevations.
As always, we present our top five, which saw no changes:
1. Kyle Lowry
2. Chris Bosh
3. Vince Carter
4. DeMar DeRozan
5. Pascal Siakam
You can find the entire list here.
Pascal Siakam was unable to climb up from #5 before he was traded to the Indiana Pacers.
O.G. Anunoby, who was traded to the New York Knicks during the season, went up one spot to #13.
Former Rookie of the Year Scottie Barnes climbed to #17 from #26.
Jakob Poeltl went from #31 to #25.
Gary Trent Jr, who is now with Milwaukee, reached #30 from #33.
We thank you for your continued support of our lists on Notinhalloffame.com.
Yes, we know that this is taking a while!
As many of you know, we here at Notinhalloffame.com are slowly generating the 50 of each major North American sports team. That being said, we have existing Top 50 lists out and we always consistently look to update them when we can and based on necessity. As such, we are very happy to present our post 2022/23 revision of our top 50 Toronto Raptors.
As for all of our top 50 players in basketball we look at the following:
1. Advanced Statistics.
2. Traditional statistics and how they finished in the National Basketball Association.
3. Playoff accomplishments.
4. Their overall impact on the team and other intangibles not reflected in a stat sheet.
Last year, Toronto only made it to the play-in round, but when you have a franchise this young, you will see fluctuation in a top 50, even in a mediocre year.
As always, we present our top five, which saw a new number five:
1. Kyle Lowry
2. Chris Bosh
3. Vince Carter
You can find the entire list here.
Siakam continues his climb, and has done enough to breach the top five.
Fred VanVleet, who is now with the Houston Rockets, climbed to #8 from #12.
Shooting Guard, O.G. Anunoby moved up to #14 from #20.
Former Rookie of the Year, Scottie Barnes, advanced ten spots to #26.
Center, Jakob Poeltl, who returned last year, shot up nine spots to #31. This jump, despite only 24 more Games was a testament to Poeltl’s efficiency and Toronto’s overall brevity in length.
The lone new entry was Gary Trent, who debuts at #33.
We welcome your input and comments and as always, we thank you for your support.
A Gold Medalist in the FIBA U-19 World Cup in 2019, Scottie Barnes turned heads in his lone season at Florida State, winning the ACC Freshman of the Year, but it was a little puzzling that he went fourth overall in the 2021 NBA Draft. Toronto knew exactly what they were doing.
The Power Forward became a starter for the Raptors on day one, and he would become the third Raptor following Damon Stoudamire and Vince Carter to win the Rookie of the Year. Barnes averaged 15 Points with 7.5 Rebounds in his debut campaign, with him showing typical numbers with a defensive deficiency in advanced metrics, but that is typical of youth. Barnes regressed in his second season, while although matching his PPG of 15.3, his other stats across the board dipped, though was poised for a breakout in his third season.
Last season, Barnes made it to his first All-Star Game, and with the mid-season trade of other stars (Pascal Siakam and O.G. Anunoby) he became the face of the team. Barnes should be able to build on his 19.9 PPG year.