That’s A Rap #182: Siakam is the cream of the 2016 crop

The Toronto Raptors’ season ended a month ago but the city of Toronto got an injection of positive news this week.

Pascal Siakam was named to the All-NBA team for the second time in his career. Before the season started, when listing the many factors required for a successful season, Siakam bouncing back from a horrible 18 months in Florida was probably the most important item. Not only did Pascal’s spiciness return but his season was statistically better than his previous All-NBA campaign.

The head-turning news only continued from there as rapper J Cole signed with the Scarborough Shooting Stars of the CEBL. The squad wasn’t done making headlines as they followed that up by signing former Raptor, Jalen Harris, as he inches closer to the July 1st date where he can apply for reinstatement with the NBA.

It was an eventful week leading into the NBA Finals, so kick back and enjoy the latest episode of That’s A Rap!

In This Episode:

6:15 — Pasc-All-NBA

When you think about the 2016 NBA draft, there were a ton of big names to emerge from that class: Ben Simmons, Brandon Ingram, Domantas Sabonis, Jaylen Brown, Jamal Murray, and Dejounte Murray, to name a few. Siakam stands head and shoulders above them all. He’s the only one from that class to play a significant role in his team’s championship (sorry Malachi Richardson, Damian Jones, and Patrick McCaw). He also owns 2 of the 3 All-NBA selections for the entire draft class!

17:30 — Deandre Ay-no-thank-you

If you still feel like the Raptors are in need of a Center, look no further than the four “big men” starting for the Conference Finalists: Robert Williams (6’8), Bam Adebayo (6’9), Dwight Powell (6’10), Kevon Looney (6’9). Deandre Ayton may be unhappy in Phoenix, but the price he’s going to command — in addition to the difficulty of picturing him fitting in with Nurse’s switch-heavy philosophy — makes this a very easy ‘no’ from me.

26:30 — Shooting Stars inheriting star power

It’s a Cole World and we’re just living in it! Actually, fans of the Scarborough Shooting Stars will be getting their money’s worth all season with J Cole and Jalen Harris joining the roster. Harris is still riding out his 1-year suspension from the NBA, but that doesn’t prevent him from signing with the CEBL.

35:00 — Prepping for the Finals

This episode was recorded before Miami gutted out a hard-fought, season-saving victory in Boston. If the Celtics eke out another pivotal road victory in Game 7, then we can exhale and enjoy a riveting Finals matchup between Boston and Golden State. If Miami manage to win, you can blame us for jinxing the Celtics.