Toronto Raptors: Top 10 moments from 2017-18 NBA season
2. DeMar’s New Year’s Day performance
Happy New Year’s Day, Raptor fans! Oh boy, did they deliver, or moreover, DeMar DeRozan did. He was the first player in the NBA to score 50 or more points on a New Year’s Day game. He also set a franchise-record high for points in a game with his 52-point performance.
The old record was set by former Raptors Terrence Ross and Vince Carter (51 points). Trying to make the case for best Raptors of all time, DDR has records in multiple categories in Toronto’s 23 years of franchise existence. The list of accolades is long:
- One of two players to receive multiple ALL-NBA selection (Vice Carter)
- 2nd in All-Star Appearances with (4)
- 1st in Player of the Week selections (10)
- 1st in Player of the Month selections (3)
- 1st in games played (675)
- 1st in minutes played (22,184)
- 1st in total points (12,800)
- 2nd in points per game average in a season (27.3)
- 5th in total rebounds (2, 646)
- 3rd in assists (1, 949)
- 2nd in steals (636)
- 1st in field goals made (4, 543)
- 1st in free throws made (3,170)
- 1st in consecutive seasons played in a Raptors uniform (9)
Needless to say, he has a strong argument for being the greatest Toronto Raptor ever.