Raptors break out into mid-practice dance-off

Toronto Raptors/X

Before they get things going for the 2024-25 NBA season, the Toronto Raptors are making sure they know how to bust a move.

In a moment captured by the team’s Open Gym cameras, the Raptors chose a bit of a non-traditional warmup at one of their practices this week.

“Before we get into basketball,” Toronto head coach Darko Rajakovic said to his team, before motioning to Raptors assistant coach Jama Mahlalela to “take the lead.”

“We could do a regular dynamic warmup like we normally do,” Mahlalela said in the video, before it was clear that would not be the case.

Instead, the team decided to play an Afrobeats mix, with an instructor leading the team through a dance-inspired warmup and ending up with a few of the players and Rajakovic himself busting a move in the centre circle.

Incase you had the guys dancing to afrobeats on your bingo card today

Open Gym: Moment presented by @Bell pic.twitter.com/X77B7mw4vl

— Toronto Raptors (@Raptors) October 17, 2024

“Afrobeats, 1, 2, 3!” the team broke down the huddle at the end of the dance-off, before actually getting into their regular practice routine.

This isn’t the first time the organization has had a connection to African music.

At a 2022 Giants of Africa Foundation event, Raptors president Masai Ujiri spoke about how he noticed Afrobeats had become a mainstay in Toronto’s culture.

“It was a white instructor visiting [my Pilates class],” Ujiri said. “She actually played Afrobeats… Afrobeats is kicking ass. She doesn’t know me at all, so you can’t even say she did it because of me.”

The Raptors officially get their season going in less than a week’s time, when they host the Cleveland Cavaliers on October 23.

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