Breadcrumb Trail Links
Sports
Basketball
'There's been so many great characters and people over the course of this team's history that I was just fortunate enough to get these 30, and they were all great.'
Published Dec 17, 2025 • 6 minute read
We the Raptors by Eric Smith and Andrew Bricker tells stories from 30 years of Toronto Raptors history.
We the Raptors by Eric Smith and Andrew Bricker tells stories from 30 years of Toronto Raptors history. Eric Smith/Instagram
Article content
Reviews and recommendations are unbiased and products are independently selected. Postmedia may earn an affiliate commission from purchases made through links on this page.
Advertisement 2
Edmonton Sun
THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY
Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.
Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account.
Get exclusive access to the Edmonton Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on.
Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists.
Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists.
Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword.
SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES
Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.
Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account.
Get exclusive access to the Edmonton Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on.
Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists.
Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists.
Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword.
REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES
Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.
Access articles from across Canada with one account.
Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments.
Enjoy additional articles per month.
Get email updates from your favourite authors.
THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK.
Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.
Access articles from across Canada with one account
Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments
Enjoy additional articles per month
Get email updates from your favourite authors
Sign In or Create an Account
or
Article content
There have been good books written about the history of the Toronto Raptors, but longtime team broadcaster Eric Smith was hoping to do something different.
Article content
Article content
“I think the rest of the country sort of looks on Toronto like we’re this snooty, centre of the universe in Canada, but we appreciate, I think, as sports fans, blue collar and hard workers,” Smith told the Toronto Sun at halftime of a recent Raptors game.
“So I started to think about the way that this fanbase has rallied behind all these different players over the years and what if we could do some kind of a collection of stories, or we put together a bunch of different interviews featuring some of these guys that maybe don’t get the spotlight shone on them as much,” said Smith, most commonly known as one half of the Raptors radio broadcast team on Sportsnet with Paul Jones.
Advertisement 3
Article content
“And they did when they were here, yeah, they were key figures, and people bought their jerseys and everything, but we don’t really hear from them as much.”
Loading...
We apologize, but this video has failed to load.
Play Video
Smith and co-author Andrew Bricker, who happens to be his brother-in-law and a professor of English literature at Ghent University, cooked up the idea for We the Raptors: 30 Players, 30 Stories, 30 Years when everyone was sitting around with time to spare during the pandemic.
Smith and Bricker succeeded in tying in the franchise’s 30th anniversary with perspectives from a mixture of stalwarts and franchise icons like Antonio Davis, Jonas Valanciunas, Jose Calderon, RJ Barrett, Norman Powell and Alvin Williams.
Also included is Canadian all-star turned Raptor player and developmental coach Jamaal Magloire, as well as players familiar more to Raptors die-hards who have been along for the ride for longer than just the championship season (like Matt Bonner, T.J. Ford, Anthony Parker, Doug Christie, Mike James and Jerome Williams, amongst others).
Edmonton Sun Headline News Banner
Edmonton Sun Headline News
Get the latest headlines, breaking news and columns.
By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc.
Thanks for signing up!
A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder.
The next issue of Edmonton Sun Headline News will soon be in your inbox.
We encountered an issue signing you up. Please try again
Article content
Advertisement 4
Article content
MANY GREAT CHARACTERS OVER THE YEARS
“There’s been so many great characters and people over the course of this team’s history that I was just fortunate enough to get these 30 and they were all great,” he said.
One of the most memorable interviews was one of two (the other was with current Raptor Garrett Temple) in-person sit-downs.
“(Jonas Valanciunas) was lounged out on a couch (in a hotel room in Montreal) in Wizards gear and we were there for at least two, if not three hours, and he was just kicked back on the couch, just answering questions and whatnot,” Smith recalled.
JV
Former Raptors Jonas Valanciunas (right) and Jamaal Magloire both sad down for interviews for We The Raptors. SUN FILES
“There’s a bunch of stories that stand out from him, let alone from other players, but Jonas was talking about when he first came to Toronto, and I don’t know if it’s day one or week one or month one, but either way, one of the first things he did in the city was go to Home Depot to get groceries, because he thought going to Home Depot is like, ‘well, they have home stuff and they have food and they have any home goods,’” Smith said with a laugh.
Advertisement 5
Article content
“He didn’t realize it was like lumber and tools, like little human moments like that, where a young kid coming from overseas (Lithuania) and trying to live life on his own and stuff like that. Like just those, those cool little nuggets that you got from the guys.”
The book provides insight into the NBA life and, in particular, what it’s like to arrive in a new city and country and how perceptions changed once they grew accustomed to Toronto, Canada and the Raptors in general.
But the interviews and ensuing chapters turned into much more than that, with many of the subjects digging far deeper into their lives and careers.
“Allowing guys the freedom to discuss their lives and how their lives their upbringing or their collegiate career or high school career, whatever it might be, how that impacted who they were, as men, as individuals, let alone as professionals,” Smith said.
Advertisement 6
Article content
He went into each on-camera interview without any questions written down, allowing the conversations to flow freely.
“I just knew in my brain where I might want to go with whoever I was talking to. I think that sort of casual approach, and the fact that, I guess I’ve got a working relationship with a lot of these guys (he’s been around the Raptors nearly since their inception), that there’s at least a little bit of familiarity with me, they seemed to allow, or be open, to a casual conversation that was disarming,” he said.
“And it was just two guys, kind of shooting the, you know what, and just kind of allowing ourselves to go down a lot of different paths.”
BOOK HAS BECOME A BESTSELLER
Publishers were on board with the concept with many vying for the title, but Simon & Schuster Canada sealed the deal and it has been a hit since its November release, becoming an instant bestseller and generating strong reviews.
Advertisement 7
Article content
It doesn’t hurt that the foreword was written by Kyle Lowry, widely considered the greatest of all Raptors.
Smith would have been happy to land any of the five most prominent Raptors (Lowry, DeMar DeRozan, Kawhi Leonard, Vince Carter and Chris Bosh, whose eras are broken out in various chapters of the book), for the project, but thinks Lowry was the perfect choice in the end because before he became iconic in these parts, he was one of the blue-collar grinders just trying to figure out his NBA life.
Jose Calderon; Anthony Parker
Jose Calderon and Anthony Parker also tell their stories about the Chris Bosh Era for the Raptors. SUN FILES.
While Smith believed in his concept, he also felt, “it means nothing if one of those top five, top 10 doesn’t put their stamp of approval and say, ‘Yes, this the whole genesis or thesis behind this book is legit.’
“We wouldn’t be where we are without these types of players. And Kyle is an interesting one, too, because he arguably was one of those guys. Became a star and a cornerstone guy because of the opportunity that was afforded him here and the way that he obviously performed and his career took off.”
Advertisement 8
Article content
THE GROAT GOT ON BOARD
Lowry agreed immediately to participate (he said when he arrived the Raptors were informally known around the league as “the EuroLeague team of the NBA”) and put the finishing touches on a collection of stories that is must-read for any Raptors fan.
This corner has covered the team for more than one and a half decades, yet learned quite a bit about people we’ve gotten to know over those years and others who were here beforehand.
“I hope it reaches all Raptor fans, certainly, but basketball fans or even sports fans in general, because I think the human element of the stories certainly comes through in a lot of the chapters,” Smith said.
Antonio Davis; Alvin Williams
Antonio Davis and Alvin Williams during the Vince Carter Era of Toronto Raptors history. SUN FILES
“But for the Raptors specifically, I think there are a lot of fans that came to this team during the sort of Lowry/DeRozan era that became the championship era, and now they’re still here, but they maybe didn’t know about the first 10, 15, years of the franchise.
“Then there are the hard cores that have been here since 95-96 so I think it’s a book that can give you a bit of a history lesson if you’re a newer fan and I think it’s a book that gives you a nice nostalgic look at history, but then brings you into the present, if you are a long-time fan as well.”
@WolstatSun
Article content
Share this article in your social network
Comments