It’s a proven draft-night playbook, so why not use it again?
In years when the Raptors haven’t possessed the luxury of an NBA lottery pick, they’ve previously laid a bet on a late basketball bloomer with next-level length and athleticism, then allowed their renowned talent nurturers to mould the raw newcomer into a coveted gem.
It worked most notably in the case of Pascal Siakam, whom the Raptors drafted 27th back in 2016, and who has risen to become an NBA champion, a max-salary cornerstone and a two-time member of the all-NBA team. Now the Raptors are hoping it’ll work again with Christian Koloko, the University of Arizona centre they selected 33rd with their only pick of Thursday’s NBA draft.