Listen to That’s A Rap #94: Toronto’s greatest rivals are... the Wizards?

Who are the greatest rivals of the Toronto Raptors?

While our answer might surprise you, the rest of this week’s podcast shouldn’t. Professional basketball continues barrelling towards a return — positive COVID tests and all! In fact, the NBA doubled down by adding a second bubble in Chicago for the Delete Eight.

There were a lot of debatable topics discussed, so make sure to voice your thoughts in the comments below. But first, enjoy the latest episode of That’s A Rap!

In This Episode:

Test results are in! Over 1,200 tests were administered to NBA players and staff members since June 23rd. Not counting a handful of tests outside of the U.S. (i.e. Nikola Jokic), 25 players and 10 staff members tested positive. Keep track of those numbers because this time next week, the other 19 teams not in Florida will start arriving.

Adam Silver recently stated that he will travel in and out of the bubble, similar to Disney employees. He assured reporters that there is a “backdoor to the campus”, and that “there are a group of us who will... remain far more than 10 feet away from the players”. Doesn’t this defeat the purpose of the “bubble”?

The list of players who have tested positive and/or opted out of the NBA’s re-start. Over the last week, the list has now added: Wilson Chandler, DeAndre Jordan, Spencer Dinwiddie, Thabo Sefolosha, Zhaire Smith, and Willie Cauley-Stein. It’s unsure if Bradley Beal or Dwight Howard will join the list, but they’ve been quite vocal about the current social climate and it wouldn’t be too surprising if they opted out.

The NBA’s latest actions in support of the Black Lives Matter movement include displaying “Black Lives Matter” on the hardwood and allowing players to change the name on the back of their jerseys. What would you like to see the players do with their jerseys? What else can the NBA do to support the movement?

Midway through the episode, Woj dropped a bomb with news that Chicago may be home to a second bubble. The eight teams left out of Disney may have some games in September after all. What are the implications to draft position? What does this mean for Vince Carter’s retirement? How motivated will players be, especially with the stakes being so low?

It’s rivalry week on SB Nation and we’d be remiss if we didn’t discuss the Raptors’ greatest rivals. Before the Masai Ujiri era, Toronto didn’t have much of a rivalry with any team. The Naismith Cup was short-lived. Battles with the Sixers and Knicks never blossomed into anything more than one playoff series. Remember that a rivalry only exists when both teams are competing for the same goal. Yes, you can argue that both teams are trying to win, but it’s hard to call any competition a rivalry when only one side wins. Does that eliminate Cleveland/Lebron James and the Nets because the Raptors never defeated them when it counted? On the flip side, doesn’t that also eliminate the Pistons (regular season) and Bucks (playoffs) because the Raptors own those respective battles?

2:40 - Test results are in

7:05 - In or Out vs. In AND Out

15:45 - BLM

27:50 - Double Bubble

32:45 - The Raptors’ greatest rival is...