As the NBA continues to work toward a return to the courts, Canadian basketball fans can still rejoice in the memory of the Toronto Raptors’ beloved title-winning team. With a nod to a few of the Raps’ key players, starting today TSN presents WE THE NORTH WEEK. Each day this week, TSN highlights an integral member of the world champion team with nightly doubleheaders of their best regular season performances. WE THE NORTH WEEK tips off tonight, (Monday, May 11), at 7:30 p.m. ET on TSN5.
A complete schedule is available here, and the players highlighted throughout the week are as follows:
Monday, May 11 – Marc Gasol and Serge Ibaka It’s Big Man Monday as the spotlight is on these two machines operating down the middle. Fans can relive Gasol’s outstanding game against the Philadelphia 76ers (Jan. 22, 2020), followed by Ibaka scoring 27 and grabbing 13 rebounds in a big road win against the Utah Jazz (Mar. 9, 2020).
Tuesday, May 12 – OG Anunoby and Terence Davis Jr. The bench mob takes the spotlight as Anunoby scores 21 and the Raps beat the Oklahoma City Thunder (Jan. 15, 2020) on the road. Then, Terence Davis Jr. gets his first career start and scores 20 as Raptors hold off a late surge from the Brooklyn Nets (Feb. 8, 2020).
Wednesday, May 13 – Norman Powell An integral piece of the Larry O’Brien-winning crew, Powell reminded us why he’s a world champion by leading the Raps with 28 points as they put up a massive 140 against the Washington Wizards (Mar. 5, 2020), followed by Powell’s career-high scoring performance of 37 points against the Golden State Warriors (Jan. 17, 2020).
Thursday, May 14 – Throwback Thursday TSN dishes up a Throwback Thursday to highlight two Raptors legends in Kawhi Leonard and Demar DeRozan. In the instant-classic Finals preview, Leonard goes head-to-head with the Golden State Warriors’ Kevin Durant in a battle from early last season (Nov. 29, 2018), followed by DeRozan’s emotional return to Toronto (Feb. 22, 2019), which saw Toronto seal the victory with a steal in the fourth.
Friday, May 15 – Fred VanVleet “Steady Freddy” steps in for the injured Kyle Lowry and leads Toronto to two big wins on a west coast road trip, first against the Los Angeles Lakers (Nov. 10, 2019) and then against the Portland Trail Blazers (Nov. 13, 2019).
Saturday, May 16 – Pascal Siakam Kicking up the heat for Spicy Saturday as TSN spotlights the NBA’s Most Improved Player of the 2019 season, Pascal Siakam. ‘Spicy P’ sets his career-high 44 points as the Raps hang on to beat the Washington Wizards (Feb. 13, 2019), and then leads Toronto in a close win over Trae Young and the Atlanta Hawks (Nov. 23, 2019).
Sunday, May 17 – Kyle Lowry WE THE NORTH WEEK concludes with a tribute to the Raptors’ heart and soul, Kyle Lowry. The Raptors’ leader shows what he does best as the team gets a little redemption from their Christmas Day defeat with a win over the Boston Celtics (Dec. 28, 2019), and the Raptors set a new franchise record for consecutive wins with an epic comeback over the Indiana Pacers (Feb. 5, 2020).
For all the latest on TSN’s programming, please check TSN.ca for the most up-to-date broadcast schedule.
