Fun and Good Highlight: Playing Snakes and Ladders with the Raptors

On Monday, during a day-off in the midst of their three-game home stand, the Raptors made a visit to Sick Kids Hospital to play with, give gifts to, and generally brighten the day of some children, re: their biggest fans.

This is obviously fun and good for various reasons. The Raptors getting out in the Toronto community to give their time to sick, infirm, or otherwise unwell kids is seriously good. And the event was set up to include moments of levity, such as an apparent Snakes and Ladders board gaming showdown featuring Jakob Poeltl, C.J. Miles, and some talented kids.

And for my money, I could not stop laughing at this video from the event:

“This is a very intense game of chutes and ladders!”

My thoughts exactly.

Just look at my guy Jak there, hunched over a Snake and Ladders board like he’s studying some advanced pick-and-roll coverage scheme. He’s giving this game everything he’s got, and you know what? I respect it.

It got me thinking about other delightful classic board game/Raptors combinations out there.

For example:

• Delon Wright, Norman Powell, and new father Fred VanVleet (with Miles to supervise, obviously) play a game of Don’t Wake Daddy.
• DeMar DeRozan challenging all comers to a game of Mastermind. (An invitation Kyle Lowry graciously accepts, and easily wins at.)
• Serge Ibaka playing Jenga by himself and then getting really mad when somebody jostles the table.
• Lucas Nogueira starting a game of Risk with Bruno Caboclo and the rest of the bench, before giving up and agreeing everyone should rule the world together.
• Jonas Valanciunas inexplicably housing everyone at Monopoly.
• Lowry extremely explicably housing everyone at Clue. (He cheats; gotta protect those cards, folks!)

What other combos you got?

In any case, you can view the entire thread of Raptors-Sick Kids Hospital tweet videos here. Come for the feel-good happy children vibes, stay for the intense focus and concentration.