Raptors coach using Tom Brady quotes as motivator for his team

Tom Brady might not have an official role with the Toronto Raptors, but his leadership style seems to have had an indirect impact on the team.

Following last night’s 127-116 win against the Dallas Mavericks, first-year Raptors head coach Darko Rajaković referenced a recent anecdote he heard about the seven-time Super Bowl champion Brady that he passed along to Toronto point guard Malachi Flynn.

“There was an amazing article that came out a couple weeks ago about Tom Brady, and he spoke about what changed his career. He was in college, and he was the third quarterback, and he complained to coach, ‘How am I going to get better? I’m only getting two reps at practice?'” Rajaković told reporters postgame.

Flynn, Toronto’s first-round selection in the 2020 draft, has had an up-and-down tenure in his first four NBA seasons and currently sits 11th in Rajaković’s rotation by average minutes per game this season at 13.4 a night. On Monday, Flynn put up eight points, a season-high for the 25-year-old guard, in just under 15 minutes of action.

So, what message did Rajaković want Flynn to take from Brady?

“‘Make sure that those two reps matter,'” Rajaković said, paraphrasing Brady’s lessons from his time at Michigan. “Don’t think about am I playing five minutes, seven minutes, 10 minutes; make sure that everything counts when you’re out there. Go play defence, play the right way, set up your teammates, and then when you play with that rhythm without pressure, you have to make shots, then shots come, and they fall down.”

I thought Darko had some great quotes last night:

-Sending an article about Tom Brady to Malachi Flynn
-Pascal Siakam's midrange game
-OG Anunoby telling him in their first meeting he was ready for the next step

First – Make your reps count, Malachi pic.twitter.com/Hvgm33GVXq

— Amit Mann (@Amit_Mann) November 9, 2023

Rajaković seems to be referencing a sitdown interview Brady did with Valuetainment’s Patrick Bet-David in September, where he discussed his career at Michigan before getting drafted to the NFL.

Of course, becoming an all-time great like Brady might be a tall task for Flynn to accomplish. But at the very least, it seems like Toronto’s doing what they can to find the right fit for him in the organization and optimize his usage in whatever minutes he gets.

Toronto returns to action Saturday night when they visit the Boston Celtics at 4 pm PT/7 pm ET.

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