Siakam plays in Toronto for the first time since the trade

Why is Siakam’s first game back in Toronto as a Pacer emotional?

Fans of the Raptors had watched Siakam’s career from day one. They saw him coming into the league as an inexperienced rookie to an All-Star.

Siakam was a big reason for Toronto’s success in recent years. That includes winning the NBA championship.

He’s a homegrown player who developed into one of the best players in the league. Raptor fans watch him get better in almost every season.

A lot of fans did not want Siakam to go. But the team wasn’t good enough otherwise he would still be a Raptor.

It hurts to see Siakam playing for another team but trading him and rebuilding the team was the best move for the future of the franchise.

Siakam spent the first seven and a half years of his NBA career in Toronto before the Raptors sent him to Indiana.

This trade shows that the two teams are going in different directions. The Pacers are looking to get in the playoffs while the Raptors are rebuilding.

Toronto drafted him with the 27^th pick of the 2016 NBA draft. Siakam was a starter in the first game of his NBA career.

Does Siakam and the Pacers need the win more than the Raptors?

Even though the Raptors are rebuilding, I’m sure Toronto wants to win tonight. If Indiana loses, they might drop in the standings.

That’s good for Toronto because they have Indiana’s 2024 first-round pick. The lower the Pacers drop in the standing, the better the pick could be.

Toronto could lose their pick to the San Antonio Spurs because of the Jakob Poeltl trade. If The Raptors’ pick fell out of the top six in the lottery, then the pick belongs to the Spurs.

They also traded their other 2024 first-round pick from Indiana to the Utah Jazz. So they would like the Pacers’ pick to be as good as possible.

On the other hand, I’m guessing that Siakam would like beat to the Raptors to show them what they’re missing while getting the Pacers a step closer to the playoffs.

How was Siakam in his first NBA season?

After starting for the first 34 games, Siakam was moved to the bench. Toronto had players like Serge Ibaka, P.J. Tucker and Patrick Patterson playing over Siakam because they were more experienced.

So, the Raptors decided to send him down to the D-League to get more playing time and develop his game. He helped the Raptors905 win the 2016-17 D-League championship.

What happened after Siakam’s rookie season?

Even though Siakam is still coming off the bench, he got more playing time during his second season because Patterson and Tucker signed with other teams.

Siakam and the other bench players were playing well in the 2017-18 season. The bench mob was the reason why Toronto was first in the Eastern Conference that year.

Siakam’s emergence as a franchise player

In his third year, Siakam was now the starting power forward for Toronto. His emergence was one of the reasons why the Raptors were in the title hunt that year.

He helped the Raptors win their first-ever NBA championship. He was also rewarded with the Most Improved Player award.

The following year, he was selected to be an NBA All-Star starter by the fans due to how great he was playing. He also got an All-NBA Second-Team selection.

He’s also a big reason why the Raptors were one of the best teams in the 2019-20 season. The Raptors were on a roll but the season was on hold because of the pandemic.

What happened after Siakam’s first All-Star selection?

Unfortunately, he couldn’t get back to being an All-Star once the NBA season resumed. His slump in the bubble continued in the 2020-21 season.

Siakam missed the first couple of weeks of the 2021-22 season due to an injury. Once he came back, he was playing like an All-Star once again.

Siakam did not get an All-Star selection but he did get an All-NBA Third-Team selection. He also helped the Raptors clinch a playoff spot.

The next season, he was selected as an injury replacement to play in the All-Star game for the second time in his career. This time he came off the bench.

So far this season he’s playing like an All-Star. Unfortunately, he did not get selected to play in the All-Star game.

Fans of the Raptors saw Siakam progress from a rookie with raw talent and untapped potential to an NBA champion and All-Star. That’s why it will be weird to see him in Toronto wearing a different jersey.