Raptors basketball is returning, within the confines of an Orlando bubble, and we don't really know what it will look like. What we do know is that the team's 2019-20 season, before the pandemic hit, was a joy to watch. There was a purity to watching this particular group root, fight for, and lift each other through 64 games.
As clichés would have it, the NBA is a brotherhood. Listen to the way Fred VanVleet and Pascal Siakam talk about each other, Kyle Lowry call Siakam beloved, watch Marc Gasol take a little moment on the bench to mentor someone, or Serge Ibaka teach Terence Davis good habits, and all of that helps translate to success on the court. That bond has also helped make for some hilarious moments, so without further ado, here are the 10 funniest moments of the Raptors' season (so far).
10. Lowry Says No All-Star Questions
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This was one of those classic 'Kyle’s gonna Kyle' moments. After making a big splash in the fourth quarter of this year’s All-Star game, media members in Toronto were looking forward to the opportunity of having Lowry back in the city and asking about some of those big moments.
Lowry was having none of it, eager to get on with the season—just like the rest of us now—and made it clear he wasn’t going to answer any All-Star related questions right off the top.
9. Rondae Wants His Wallet Back
Who hasn’t lost a valuable item in an Uber by now? On Thursday Feb. 22, Rondae added his name to the list and reached out to the city of Toronto via social media pleading for whoever found his Louis Vuitton Damier Graphite Canvas Vertical Zippy wallet, worth approximately $550 CAD, to return it.
The sweatpant regrets are so, so relatable.
By the time the Raptors defeated the Pacers by 46 points the next day, Rondae was offering a $1000 cash reward, two tickets to a game, and a Pascal Siakam signed jersey. which Siakam may or may not have been voluntold to offer.
Unfortunately, #CHAPWallet did not result in a return of the wallet.
8. Kyle Lowry and Matt Thomas in The Nutcracker
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What’s not to love about Kyle Lowry and Matt Thomas making their National Ballet of Canada debut as Cannon Dolls for The Nutcracker? This turned out to be every bit as entertaining as when the plan was first announced. Lowry played the beyond terrified Cannon Ball while Thomas was the one raring to go, and that meant having to catch Lowry every time he pretended to faint.
The six-time All-Star’s Instagram story was worth a watch as well.
7. Ibaka Posterizes Pacers, Karate Kicks Rondae
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Toronto has had to deal with its fair share of injuries this season, and so the last thing the Raptors needed when they went to Indiana without the services of Pascal Siakam, Marc Gasol, and Norman Powell on Dec. 23 was any self-inflicted wounds.
Ibaka’s humour has ranged from improvisational to topical but this time he opted for a physical display. Receiving a pass from VanVleet on the move, Ibaka threw down a sick one-hander, but also raised his foot high enough to catch teammate Rondae Hollis-Jefferson in the face. Rondae immediately collapsing backwards to the floor was certainly scary in the moment, but since he was able to get back on his feet a few seconds later, we can all look back and laugh at it now.
You can even see in the moment that Ibaka is torn between getting back on defence and helping out his teammate until the referees blow the whistle to stop play. Toronto lost the game in overtime, but we all gained this moment.
6. Ibaka Passes to a Wide-Open VanVleet… But He’s Out of Bounds
The Raptors put this game to bed early. Jumping to a 17-point first-quarter lead, they took their play to another level in the second quarter to go into the halftime break with a franchise-record 40-point lead.
You could have slept through the rest of it, but then you would have missed Ibaka providing one of the misplays of the season with a Shaqtin-a-fool moment that would have made JaVale McGee proud. Receiving the ball from Terence Davis at the right elbow after setting a screen, the man from Congo looked to attack Tony Bradley until he spotted an unguarded Fred VanVleet in the corner. Just one problem: VanVleet was out of bounds.
Credit to VanVleet, though, as he immediately took ownership of the situation, recognizing he did Ibaka no favours by not putting his warmup jacket on and standing where he was in full uniform. Norman Powell, not exactly known for his passing instincts, was extremely entertained.
5. Lowry Keeps "Pluggin' Away" in Post-Game Interview
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One can only assume that Lowry lost some kind of bet here, possibly involving his beloved Philadelphia Eagles since they crashed out of the NFL playoffs on Jan. 5 and the game was played on Jan. 8. Guesses ranged from Nick Nurse to Tiger Woods but the real answer remains a mystery who Lowry was impersonating in this hilarious scrum.
4. I Do Art
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We first heard the line in the debut of Avec Classe, when Ibaka served up a diss to VanVleet for his fashion sense. During his time in Toronto, Ibaka’s presence in the fashion game has grown exponentially to the point where he was invited to Paris Fashion Week this past summer and even appeared on Vanity Fair’s annual list of best-dressed people in the world.
His celebrity status has grown considerably over the course of the season as well, and he has taken the opportunity to use his newly famous tagline several times since, including on an ESPN broadcast after the Raptors defeated the Pacers.
“I don’t do drip or money or fashion, I do art.”
3. Rondae Is Not Your Child
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This started out innocently enough, with Rondae Hollis-Jefferson performing his post-game duties of answering questions during a scrum. But then a wild Norman Powell appeared out of the shower, ripped off Rondae’s toque and casually tossed it away.
“I’mma be honest, I almost cursed. I’m not even gonna lie, don’t do that, I’m not your child,” Hollis-Jefferson said. “I know I be joking, but I don’t play all the time.”
What added to the hilarity of this moment was Powell clapping back a little with his next gameday fit, a hoodie with “You are my son, no cap” emblazoned on the front.
After rumours of tension between Powell and Hollis-Jefferson, Rondae cleared the air at the next game saying that everything’s cool and they’re just having a good time. It wouldn’t be the first time a tense moment turned out to be a great source of entertainment.
2. Nick Nurse Wins His First Coach’s Challenge
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Nurse is one cool dude. The Raptors had just sustained a pair of injuries to key cogs in Lowry and Ibaka the game before, were in the midst of tight battle with LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers, and just had Siakam called for what would have been his fourth foul. Calm as you like, Nurse threw up a prayer and called for a Coach’s Challenge.
0-for-7 to that point in the season, the referees miraculously overturned Siakam’s foul on James, causing a jump-ball but more importantly saving Siakam from foul trouble and preventing LeBron from going to the line.
Lowry is the first to congratulate his head coach, who then goes on to hug his assistants despite Nate Bjorkgren’s best efforts to stay focused on the task at hand and then even hugs a Lakers fan who may or not be famous. The bench just celebrated like someone threw down a monster dunk. What a moment.
1. What About Scarfs?
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If Serge spells it "scarfs," it’s scarfs. This is the funniest moment of the season. After inviting OG Anunoby to be on Avec Classe, the starting small forward for the Raptors wasn’t the most hospitable guest by claiming he put Ibaka on fashion, before specifically suggesting that Ibaka got into the scarf game because of him.
The highlight here is when Ibaka takes off his jacket, listens to Anunoby’s explanation, then pulls up his sleeves as his blood boils. He was clearly angry, but the comedy this provided on camera is unmistakeable.
“This is your second year in the league… third year in the league. OK, I’ve been in the scarf game 10 years now.”
A part of me believes that if this moment wasn’t on camera, the above line would have had this alternate ending:
“This is your third year in the league, and right now it’s about to be your last.”
Honourable Mention
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Kyle Lowry suffers instant regret learning that Sportsnet’s Michael Grange will be around for the team’s first road trip of the season.
