Raptors could hit franchise's all-time longest losing streak next week
When the Toronto Raptors traded away Pascal Siakam to the Indiana Pacers back in January, they probably didn’t envision him being a part of their franchise history for the rest of the year.
But due to how the NBA schedule has shaken out—and exactly how futile Toronto has been this season—Siakam and the Pacers might actually hand Toronto a record-setting loss.
If you haven’t been paying attention to the Raptors of late, well, they haven’t exactly been all that inspiring. They’re currently on a 13-game slide, having last won on Sunday, March 3, against the Charlotte Hornets.
And with the franchise record currently sitting at 17 losses in a row, a potential No. 18 would come on April 9 when Siakam and the Pacers visit Toronto for the team’s final home game of the season.
If Toronto remains on the slide heading into next week, Siakam wouldn’t be the only legendary Raptor to run into the team on their losing skid, as they were defeated Sunday by the Philadelphia 76ers, led by two Toronto icons in Nick Nurse and Kyle Lowry.
There have been many reasons for the losing streak, at least part of which has been due to a severely undermanned roster. Immanuel Quickley and RJ Barrett have both missed time due to family deaths, while Scottie Barnes, Jakob Poeltl, and Chris Boucher have all missed time due to injury.
Mix in Jontay Porter being the centre of an NBA investigation due to “betting irregularities,” and you’ve got one of the toughest stretches of on-court play in franchise history.
When was the Raptors’ longest losing streak?
The Raptors lost 17 games in a row from November 6, 1997 to December 10, 1997.
There are a few notable names in team history on that roster: Damon Stoudamire, Doug Christie, and Tracy McGrady, to name a few, but the young Raptors were still finding their way as a third-year team in a tough NBA.
Toronto returns to play Tuesday night when they host LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers at Scotiabank Arena. Tipoff for that one is set for 7 pm ET.