An Ode To Pascal Siakam’s Legacy as a Toronto Raptor

Siakam’s time in Toronto has come to an end, but his legacy as the face of this era of Raptors basketball will live on forever.

Siakam didn’t just embody what it meant to be a Toronto Raptor. He defined it.

From a late-comer to the sport, to a late first round pick, to a bench player, to a starter, to a Champion, All-Star and All-NBA player, Siakam’s development proved what it meant to be a Toronto Raptor.

Resilient. Hard-working. Always growing, always looking to improve.

Of course, Siakam wouldn’t be the face of what it means to be a Toronto Raptor if it wasn’t for the biggest factor of all: committing to this city.

For a city and fanbase that has seen their fair share of star players, we’ve also seen them all leave. Whether it’s Vince Carter, Chris Bosh, or Kawhi Leonard, the top basketball stars that have come through Toronto always seemed to leave for greener pastures. That’s what made DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry so endearing – outside of their bromance. They chose to stay, they chose this city, and greater than all, they chose this country.

Under their guidance, so did Siakam. The kid from Cameroon all of a sudden was the biggest champion of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It wasn’t just the city of the team that drafted him, that was paying millions of dollars him to play a sport, it was home.

To make somewhere home, you first need to be there. The story of how Siakam got to Toronto, is just as great as him making it his home.

Drafted by the Toronto Raptors with the 27th pick of the 2016 NBA Draft, you would think his story with Raptors’ President of Basketball Operations, Masai Ujiri, begins there. It does not.

Long before riding the streetcar throughout the streets of Toronto (and being surprised you have to pay for it), 17-year-old Pascal Siakam was a kid from Douala, Cameroon with little interest in basketball. Despite his three older brothers – Boris, Christian and James – all garnering Division 1 NCAA scholarships to play the sport, Pascal was much more interested in soccer.

Dragged along by his brothers, Siakam attended one of former NBA player Luc Mbah a Moute’s basketball camps in Cameroon. Mbah a Moute, playing for the Milwaukee Bucks at the time, is also credited as the person who discovered fellow Cameroon NBA superstar Joel Embiid.

Mbah a Moute liked what he saw in the raw, lanky, but athletic 17-year old Siakam, and invited him back to his camp the following year. From that second year at Mbah a Moute’s camp, Siakam was selected to attend the NBA and FIBA’s collaborative Basketball Without Borders camp, where he would cross paths with his future employer and mentor, Masai Ujiri.

Ujiri noticed Siakam’s raw athleticism and praised him for his effort and high energy level. Under the guidance of Mbah a Moute, and being watch from afar by Ujiri, Siakam committed to basketball and made the move to the United States of America.

Bouncing from one basketball camp to the next, Siakam eventually settled at the prep school God’s Academy in Lewisville, Texas. It was in Texas where New Mexico State University coach Marvin Menzies approached Siakam to recruit him to play for the Aggies.

Committing to NMSU, Siakam redshirted the 2013-14 season due to injury. He would eventually make his way into the Aggies’ starting lineup for the 2014-15 season, but not before tragedy struck.

Back home in Cameroon, Siakam’s father Tchamo was killed in a car accident in October of 2014. Tchamo always wanted his sons to make it professionally in basketball, and his passing only fuelled Pascal’s drive. Writing “RIP DAD” on his shoes during that season and dedicating the reason he plays to his late father and family, Siakam began to turn heads at NMSU.