He’d sit and watch parts of the Raptors’ inglorious exit from the NBA playoffs, and Pascal Siakam wouldn’t recognize himself.
Oh, the body was the same, but the soul was different. He’d feel the invisible weight of the pandemic and a world in turmoil, and he couldn’t see his true self.
He vowed then that he’d find a way to be himself again — the joyful young man who loved what he did, rather than a worker just doing his job.
“When I watched the game, one of the things that I really felt was I didn’t recognize myself in terms of just, like, having fun,” Siakam said Thursday, the first time he’s spoken publicly at length about the Raptors’ — and his — disappointing performance in the 2020 post-season.