The game was winding down, and Raptors 905 were on the verge of winning the D-League championship. Fred VanVleet walked over to the scorer’s table alongside Dan Tolzman, GM of the Raptors 905, and they both turned to ask a simple question.
“How are they doing, what’s the score?”
The they being referred to was the Toronto Raptors, who were at the time hanging on for dear life against a stubborn Milwaukee Bucks squad mounting a comeback for the ages after trailing by as many as 25. The lead, at the time, was eight points for the Raptors. A little while later, the 905 were crowned champions. They put on their championship shirts and hats, collected their trophy, and were off to the locker room. The champagne bottles were out, the concourse was beginning to reek of alcohol, but while some of them were enjoying their moment, guys like E.J. Singler and CJ Leslie were still paying attention to the television.
With under a minute remaining, the Raptors were now clinging to a five-point lead. Jason Terry hit a three to cut it to two, and the groans were audible. The game wore on for a few more free throws, but eventually, the parent club came through.
Now, it was really time to celebrate.
Head coach Jerry Stackhouse didn’t do his post-game scrum till after the Raptors clinched their spot in the second round, because that’s exactly what this franchise has been about. The togetherness from top to bottom within this organization is REAL. They care about each other, they care about winning, and they care about doing it together.
“Everybody was pretty much handpicked,” said Stackhouse after the game. “It was about creating a culture throughout our organization, and from everybody, even above, with Masai, Mr. Tanenbaum—he came to all-star (D-League Showcase), he came into the locker rooms, you know, spent time with us. The whole MLSE family has just embraced what we’re doing, and just to get a personal note from him saying what the 905 is bringing to this community and Toronto was huge.”
That devotion from top to bottom was apparent the minute Fred VanVleet was sent to the 905 after they had lost Game 1 of the D-League Finals. After helping them win Game 2 at the Hershey Centre, it would have still been completely understandable for the Raptors to recall him for a potential series-clinching Game 6. That didn’t happen either, and they were rewarded for their decision with all three assignees putting up big numbers in the final game.
Winning a championship in the second year of the team’s existence, their first with Jerry Stackhouse at the helm, is no fluke. Stackhouse created a bible, essentially a system, outlining exactly how the 905 would go about their business. It contained a list of their games every month with Stackhouse anticipating eight wins out of every 10 games they played, tough practices that worked his players till they couldn’t take anymore, and rotation patterns aimed at emphasizing team play.
“I had to get at these guys sometimes, that’s part of building a team—getting at them and know that our culture and our system is bigger than any of them. Bigger than me, bigger than anything—that’s what we’re gonna do, either you get on board or we’ll find somebody else who will.”
Antwaine Wiggins, a 905 forward that has played multiple positions, started, come off the bench, collected DNP-CDs, shared what it’s like to have that mindset during the season.
“It’s really mind over matter,” Wiggins said. “When you’re on the court, do the best you can. When you’re off the court, you want the team to do the best they can, so you cheer them on. As long as you stay positive and keep the right mindset, you can go as far as you want.”
Coming together as a team—as brothers—has also pushed them to embrace the people that came to support them every game. On a night when the Raptors were playing, a little under 5,000 people turned up to cheer the 905 to a championship. During his post-game scrum, Stackhouse made special mention of someone that helped bring perspective to life beyond the lines.
“I’m thankful for this community—Mississauga, I made some friends that, you know, that’s gonna be lifetime friends,” Stackhouse said. “Corey Smith and the little kid, Nathan Smith, who has cystic fibrosis. I wanna dedicate this whole championship to his family, man.”
“Understand, we take so much for granted when we got healthy kids and, you know, just go about our day, but there’s people that’s really just dealing with some things, and for him, just that outlet of bringing him to the game—seeing, enjoying this space. And it’s a break for them (the parents) from all of the work that they have to do 24 hours a day when you have a kid who has special needs, and man, those people are our family now. They follow us on the road to different places, and like I said, I wouldn’t have those relationships if I didn’t have this job. Maybe that’s what it’s all about.”
Yes, the D-League title is theirs. They had two players named to the all-NBADL teams and called up to NBA teams. Stackhouse was named Coach of the Year. Siakam was named D-League Finals MVP. Yet, those accolades speak to something greater. From the Toronto Raptors to the Raptors 905, the message to their fans isn’t that they’re just committed to winning, but that everyone along the way is ingrained in the culture.
