Terence Davis named to 2019-20 All-Rookie Second Team

Although they won’t be part of tonight’s Eastern Conference Finals opener, the Toronto Raptors still found their way into the headlines on Tuesday night. Terence Davis II was named to the NBA All-Rookie Second Team, the first Raptors player to earn one of the top ten rookie spots since Jonas Valanciunas in 2013.

Davis earned 30 first team votes, more than actual first teamer Eric Paschall, to get his spot on the squad. Voters did not factor seeding games into the All-Rookie Teams.

Even though he slipped from the rotation against the Celtics, Davis was an offensive spark plug through much of the 2019-20 campaign — both before the COVID-19 hiatus and after. Averaging 7.5 points in 16.8 minutes per game, he was the only Raptor to appear in all 72 regular season games in a campaign where injuries ravaged Toronto. His season-high of 31 points came February 2 against Chicago, as he became a de facto third point guard behind Kyle Lowry and Fred VanVleet in transitional lineups.

Davis — perhaps — should’ve been given a bigger feature role in Toronto’s last series. Those deliberations wouldn’t have been on the table, though, if he hadn’t had such an impactful season.

Some of the Raptors’ most memorable moments came when Davis, Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, and Matt Thomas ran out against other teams’ first units and hung in. Given his contract status and where the team is headed, it probably won’t be a one-and-done success for Davis either. We’ll be hearing plenty from him in the years to come.