Toronto Raptors coach explains why he loves working in Canada
During their 30 years of being an NBA franchise, the Toronto Raptors have often been fighting an uphill battle to earn recognition from players around the league.
As the only current Canadian team in the league, Toronto has often struggled to attract top free agents, while fighting for media relevancy south of the border.
In recent weeks, ex-Raptors Thad Young, Rudy Gay, and Lou Williams had all made remarks about some of the downsides about playing in Canada, with one uniting factor being an added trip to the customs line at the airport each time the team returned to Toronto.
But for Serbian-born Raptors head coach Darko Rajakovic, he wasn’t buying into any of the perceived downsides of having an NBA career in Canada.
“Toronto is one of the best cities in the world. Toronto Raptors have the best fans in NBA. It’s a privilege to play in this city,” Rajakovic said Friday said in response to a question asked by Offside.
“It’s amazing every time I go out, when I go to the store, and when I talk to regular people, how much they love the team, how much they recognize the moment we’re in, how much there is support and we’re just at the start of our rebuild. So, I think it’s an absolute privilege to play in our city and to play in front of our fans and I’ll leave it at that.”
I asked Darko Rajakovic about some recent comments talking about the drawbacks of playing in Toronto.
“It’s an absolute privilege… I love this city, I love our fans, I love Canada.”
Mentioned how much he enjoys meeting fans in public and chatting about the team. pic.twitter.com/vDqQhAKpSL
— Adam Laskaris (@adam_la2karis) March 28, 2025
Toronto-born RJ Barrett told Offside similar comments earlier this year.
“It’s just such a blessing to be here. It means a lot more for me to put on this jersey every day, as well as just being back home. I’ve lived in the States for, like, nine to 10 years, to be back in Canada now, I get to live in my hometown,” Barrett said. “It’s been amazing.”
So while playing in Toronto may still not be everyone’s cup of tea due to a few extra hurdles at the border, it appears the current contingent on the team is doing just fine with it.