Everything CHAMPIONS

[RandomGuy]

Too early to retire Kawhi's jersey. After pursuing him in free agency plus the whole Ka'wine and Dine thing and him leaving it's just not a good look from branding stand point. Gotta show some pride.

What he did was incredible and I will always cheer for him when he's back in town but retirement of jersey is too much imo

Yeah, don't retire jerseys of players, who don't show loyalty, EVER, even if this player wins you your first championship. Jersey retirements are all about loyalty and accomplishments only to a lesser extent.

[MixxAOR]

Too early to retire Kawhi's jersey. After pursuing him in free agency plus the whole Ka'wine and Dine thing and him leaving it's just not a good look from branding stand point. Gotta show some pride.

What he did was incredible and I will always cheer for him when he's back in town but retirement of jersey is too much imo

[slaw]

That's just your personal opinion, because you're all about the good ole' days when a young player got drafted by a team and retired with that team. Until Kawhi actually plays a game in a Clippers jersey, pretty much everybody else identifies Kawhi as one of the greatest Raptors of all time.

In fact, Kawhi coming out of his shell on and off the court as a Raptor, completely re-invented and elevated his image in front of the world ... and it was all done in a Raptor uniform. People will always remember that. If anything, his Spurs days seem more like a distant memory.

Well, yeah, it's my personal opinion but it seems perfectly reasonable that an organization not afford its highest honor on a player who never wanted to play for the team and left as soon as possible. Even Kawhi wouldn't recognize himself as a Raptor, for example, when he goes into the hall of fame, he won't go as a Raptor.

As for the second sentence, I think you're demonstrating a certain degree of... let's call it proximity bias.

[KeonClark]

I do not want to be the first team in pro sports history to hang the jersey of a player who played 1 season and bolted.

#7 is a lock. I support #10. I'd kind of cringe at #15. Do not want #2.

[Axel]

I think you retire a jersey to honour greatness, and what Kawhi did this past season is nothing short of that.

[planetmars]

What Kawhi did was unprecedented. The NBA has never had an assassin. Go to one team and win a chip as their best player/alpha for one season. Shaq may have been the closest with Miami but he played 3.5 seasons (and was old as f*ck when he left).. either way his number was retired there.

[golden]

No on Kawhi. Perhaps when he is done playing they can put a tribute to him somewhere in the arena but a jersey being hung isn't just about winning a championship. Absolutely no one identifies him as a Raptor. The championship banner will recognize Leonard's and every other player's contribution to the 2019 win, hanging a jersey is about acknowledging a player as a quintessential Raptor (or even THE RAPTOR). That is not Kawhi.

That's just your personal opinion, because you're all about the good ole' days when a young player got drafted by a team and retired with that team. Until Kawhi actually plays a game in a Clippers jersey, pretty much everybody else identifies Kawhi as one of the greatest Raptors of all time.

In fact, Kawhi coming out of his shell on and off the court as a Raptor, completely re-invented and elevated his image in front of the world ... and it was all done in a Raptor uniform. People will always remember that. If anything, his Spurs days seem more like a distant memory.

[GOLDBLUM]

Yeah, you don't retire any player's number until they've stopped playing. I mean, you never know, Kawhi could also come back to the Raptors at some point in his career. Sure, there's like a 0.000001% of that, but those are better odds than the Raptors acquiring Kawhi in the first place AND winning the championship last year. Last season was almost like a fairy tale that actually came true.... classic Hero's Journey.

I was going by this logic too and then thought -- what if things go badly in LA and he wants to return and we have to do a ceremonial lowering of his number so he can re-don it. That could actually be pretty damn lit.

In any case, I prefer the idea of building a statue of him taking the shot out front of the arena I think. That'd be dope. Rafters... not so sure just yet.

[slaw]

Kawhi did something nobody ever did for this franchise. He deserves his number up in the rafters. I'd wait until his career was over and not do it while he's still playing.

But yeah.. for sure #2 and #7 need to be hung in the rafters.

I hope they don't retire #15. Still iffy on #10.

No on Kawhi. Perhaps when he is done playing they can put a tribute to him somewhere in the arena but a jersey being hung isn't just about winning a championship. Absolutely no one identifies him as a Raptor. The championship banner will recognize Leonard's and every other player's contribution to the 2019 win, hanging a jersey is about acknowledging a player as a quintessential Raptor (or even THE RAPTOR). That is not Kawhi.

[golden]

Kawhi did something nobody ever did for this franchise. He deserves his number up in the rafters. I'd wait until his career was over and not do it while he's still playing.

But yeah.. for sure #2 and #7 need to be hung in the rafters.

I hope they don't retire #15. Still iffy on #10.

Yeah, you don't retire any player's number until they've stopped playing. I mean, you never know, Kawhi could also come back to the Raptors at some point in his career. Sure, there's like a 0.000001% of that, but those are better odds than the Raptors acquiring Kawhi in the first place AND winning the championship last year. Last season was almost like a fairy tale that actually came true.... classic Hero's Journey.

[Shredder]

Kawhi did something nobody ever did for this franchise. He deserves his number up in the rafters. I'd wait until his career was over and not do it while he's still playing.

But yeah.. for sure #2 and #7 need to be hung in the rafters.

I hope they don't retire #15. Still iffy on #10.

I agree with everything you said, except I would add that I would hope they put up #7 before #2. If they do retire #15, #10 needs to go up and likely before #15.

[planetmars]

Kawhi did something nobody ever did for this franchise. He deserves his number up in the rafters. I'd wait until his career was over and not do it while he's still playing.

But yeah.. for sure #2 and #7 need to be hung in the rafters.

I hope they don't retire #15. Still iffy on #10.

[Axel]

So the other day, Jalen Rose said that the Raptors should retire Kawhi's #2 this year. His point was largely that the "Raptors" (I used quotations because in this case I don't know if it's the front office, the media, or the fan base) have previously considered guys like Vince, Bosh, etc and that their accomplishments were largely built on longevity while Kawhi actually did more, in less time, than any other.

I dunno, I don't think I am against the idea. Like most, I was disappointed to see him go, but I don't have ill-will towards him for going home and I think having a good relationship with a star player is a good thing for this team, so yeah, I would be down if they retired #2 on Dec 11th. It's kind of the ultimate exclamation point on the greatest season in Raptors history. Thoughts?

[planetmars]

On some level I certainly hope they do and imagine they will. Then again though, we’ve already got Open Gym, which is dope, and essentially what that’d otherwise be.

I'm hoping for some actual game footage and not just the celebration / behind the scenes stuff. I'm expecting the DVD's to have some more game footage.. maybe the entire Final series at least. I have game 6 in digital form sitting on my desktop.. So at least I'll always have that.

[GOLDBLUM]

Does anyone know if the NBA or the Raptors are going to release a commemorative DVD/BluRay for the 2019 Champions?

They usually release one every year.

Warriors had one in 2018: https://www.amazon.com/NBA-Champions.../dp/B07DQ9DC99
And again in 2017: https://www.amazon.com/2017-NBA-Cham.../dp/B06ZYGF64K
Cavs had one in 2016: https://www.amazon.com/2016-Clevelan.../dp/B01FWDFP4A
Warriors again in 2015: https://www.amazon.com/2015-NBA-Cham.../dp/B00Y1899MM

I'm sure I could go on and on.. usually they get released in August. Are we going to get shafted?

On some level I certainly hope they do and imagine they will. Then again though, we’ve already got Open Gym, which is dope, and essentially what that’d otherwise be.