With a win tonight over the Boston Celtics—or a Knicks loss in Phoenix—the Raptors would clinch their sixth post-season berth in franchise history. Though the actual playoff seed is not yet known—with a ton of jockeying expected between Chicago, Brooklyn, Washington and Toronto over the final three weeks of the regular season—Dwane Casey’s crew is going to be in the dance.
From a 6-12 start that had some fans scrambling to form a united front in ‘Tank Nation’ to a shot at home-court advantage in the first round of the ‘second season’, the 2013-14 campaign has been a wild ride.
Led by a first-time all star DeMar DeRozan and gritty, rejuvenated bulldog of a point guard Kyle Lowry (both of whom are enjoying career highs in points, rebounds, and assists), the Raptors have found chemistry in what could have been chaos.
The last time Toronto qualified for the playoffs was 2007-08. Sam Mitchell coached his team to a 41-41 record and a sixth-place finish in the Eastern Conference. The Raptors faced the Orlando Magic in the first round—arguably the best match-up, on paper, for the Raps that year— and bowed out in five games to Dwight Howard and Co.
Though that was only six years ago, only five players that appeared in the post-season for Toronto still remain in the NBA. In fact, only two members of the starting five are still in the Association!
2007-08 Toronto Raptors Playoff Roster:
Chris Bosh*
Carlos Delfino*
Andrea Bargnani*
Jose Calderon*
Kris Humphries*
Anthony Parker
Jason Kapono
TJ Ford
Jamario Moon
Rasho Nesterovic
Joey Graham
Maceo Baston
* denotes active NBA player
Bosh, Bargnani, Parker and Ford started all five games for Toronto. Two of those four have since retired (Ford and Parker), and both Nesterovic (three) and Moon (two), who split the other starts, are no longer in the league either.
If you look at each and every player who appeared in a game for the Raptors that season—before or after a trade, waiver wire transaction, etc —you’ll find five more guys that have since retired or are no longer in the NBA.
Juan Dixon
Darrick Martin
Primoz Brezec
Jorge Garbajosa
Linton Johnson
That’s 17 players total from the 2007-08 Raptors. Only five still play in the NBA and not one member of that team is still playing in Toronto.
The longest-serving Raptors (five years) are DeRozan and Amir Johnson.