Chris Boucher only wants to stay with Toronto Raptors if they're pushing for playoffs
The longest-serving member of the Toronto Raptors is still in limbo about where he’ll play next season.
Entering free agency this summer and officially able to verbally agree to a new contract next week, 32-year-old Chris Boucher has spent all but one game of his NBA career with the Raptors franchise.
But the 2024-25 season was perhaps Boucher’s toughest yet as a pro.
Last playing on Feb. 26, Boucher was relegated to the bench for the latter part of the Raptors’ season while the team favoured younger players, including four regular rookies in Jamison Battle, Jamal Shead, Ja’Kobe Walter, and Jonathan Mogbo. Development was largely prioritized over winning in Toronto, as the Raptors found themselves the 11th seed in the Eastern Conference with a 30-52 record.
Boucher spoke to HoopsHype’s Michael Scotto earlier this week about his future plans, his time in Toronto, and what he’s learned during his time in the NBA so far.
“I think of how much they believed in me at the beginning, and that was really something that I have to give them their flowers, to believe in something that people weren’t sure of at that time. I thought I was so much better,” Boucher said to Scotto of his early days with the Raptors franchise. “Obviously, I had some potential, but I wasn’t there yet. They kept believing in me and kept putting me in a position to get better.”
Boucher is the last remaining member of the Raptors’ 2019 championship team and has become a crucial member of the bench in most seasons since.
When he was in the lineup playing 17 minutes a game, Boucher averaged 10 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 0.7 assists in 50 games this past season.
“They showed me how to become a leader and a man. My life has changed a lot in the eight years that I’ve been here. A lot of things I had to learn on the fly, and I was able to do that in Toronto,” Boucher added about the Raptors.
But with uncertainty about how he might be used in Toronto, Boucher stated that his key priority for his next contract is to try to play for a winning team.
“It’s about how I can get better and be wherever it is, whether it’s here in Toronto or somewhere where they want to win. If that’s the case, then that’s where I should be… Do I want to not be on the floor, not playing, and wait? I feel like I’ve been doing that for the last two years,” Boucher said. “We haven’t had winning seasons in those years, which explains it, but I can’t really afford not to be on a playoff team and trying to win, especially when it comes to my age.”
NBA free agency opens on June 30 at 6 p.m. ET.
- You might also like:
- Toronto Raptors' draft pick explains viral reaction to being selected