Each NBA team’s most devastating injury in franchise history

Most devastating injury in Toronto Raptors history: None

Whether it’s the result of good fortune, or the byproduct of being an expansion team that hasn’t played in many games of significant consequence, the Raptors have had yet to experience the devastating blow that results from losing a key player to injury.

Yes, I’m sure that some Raptors fans will see this and provide some anecdote about some player that missed a few regular season games, or a player that has to sit out for a while and it cost the team a chance at the playoffs.

But in the grand scheme of things, no injury is as devastating as constantly watching star players leave town, or a costly draft pick that sets the team back for years (looking at you, Andrea Bargnani).

This is a franchise that has made it to the Eastern Conference Finals once in their history. So forgive me if I choose not to write about how Vince Carter missing a few games dropped them to the No. 8 seed, or how Chris Bosh missed a month and thus it cost them a chance to get brushed away by the Cleveland Cavaliers or the Boston Celtics.

The law of averages suggests that something terrible like this will happen to the Raptors eventually. But until then, let’s hope that Kawhi Leaonard stays healthy and we get a good postseason out of it.

Most devastating injury in Utah Jazz history: None

The same goes for the Utah Jazz. I know that the team has endured many injuries to key players over the years, but Utah, the perpetual, “always the bridesmaid, never the bride” franchise, has always found a way to stay relatively relevant, even if a star player goes on the shelf for an injury.

But who would I pick for them? Karl Malone and John Stockton were virtual iron men for that franchise through the 1980s and 1990s. Even if one of them missed time, it was never enough to negatively impact a promising season for the Jazz.

That trend continued when the torch was passed to Deron Williams and Carlos Boozer. Both players missed time due to injuries — as did many of the role players — but Utah remained a solid 50-win team, whose ceiling always thumped them on the head once they reached the second round of the playoffs.