1. Pascal Siakam: Four years, $130 million
The past year has bordered on the improbable for Pascal Siakam. A stellar 2018-19 season made him the front runner for the NBA’s Most Improved Player honors — which he would later win. A stellar postseason run helped the Toronto Raptors claim their first-ever NBA championship.
After Kawhi Leonard went west to Southern California during the offseason, the keys to Toronto’s franchise were unofficially passed on to 25-year-old from Cameroon. It was only after Siakam inked a four-year, $130 million contract — per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski — when that title became official.
ESPN story with @ZachLowe_NBA on Pascal Siakam and Toronto agreeing on a four-year, $130M maximum rookie contract extension. https://t.co/p04BZE3qhb
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) October 19, 2019
Siakam’s growth as a former late first-round pick has been rapid and an All-Star appearance certainly seems like the next step in his ascension towards eventual stardom.
He is why Toronto still has hopes at making some noise in the coming postseason and why it hasn’t begun a full teardown of its roster following a title-winning season. His incomprehensible ceiling is also why the Raptors had to bring him back no matter the cost, and Masai Ujiri managed to do exactly that without hesitation.
Grade: A+