Masai Ujiri always saw the Raptors as something bigger than just the franchise or the city or even the country. He saw the team as a conduit to a create hope around the world, a way to instill optimism in young women and young men in Canada, Africa, Europe, Asia ... wherever.And now that Ujiri presides over an NBA champion, the first from outside the United States and one with a roster full of players from every background imaginable and a half-dozen different countries, he will leverage that title to spread that word, justifying his passion about a game and a franchise he believes can be more than just a sports team.The championship gives him a certain cache, proof positive that his vision of winning and winning big could come to fruition, and he wants that message, that vision to resonate around the world.âThereâs something about this team that reaches out to every person in this world, just something unique about it,â Ujiri said. âItâs crazy what we represent here and itâs something that weâre proud of, weâre really, really proud of because itâs something that identifies with what Toronto is, diversity.âItâs what 44 (former U.S. president Barack Obama) said to me when he came to the games: âWow, look at the people, to look at different types of people at the game is unique to come to a Raptors gameâ and it trickles down.âWe can take it to another level because more youth are going to identify with that forever.âIn a fascinating, passionate, one-hour media session Tuesday morning, when he laid bare his feelings and what he wants the Raptors NBA title to grow into, the underlying theme Ujiri put forward was the Raptors are what Toronto, what Canada, is and should be.Diverse. United. Determined. An example.The nuts and bolts of the team, free agency and building for 2019-20 will unravel over the next couple of weeks and there was hardly anything earth-shattering in that reg ...
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