Have you ever been scrolling through your phone when a notification popped up saying, “Check out this memory,” and you’re shocked at how long it’s been?
Turns out, that’s a pretty universal experience. Just ask Norman Powell.
“Every time I see a little Google memory say ‘six years ago’, seeing the championship stuff, it blows my mind,” the former Raptors guard said on the JD Bunkis podcast Thursday when reminded that Toronto’s title came way back in 2019.
And while it’s been over half a decade since the franchise lifted the Larry O’Brien trophy and four years have passed since Powell was even on the Raptors’ roster, there are still plenty of memories the now 31-year-old looks back on fondly, even whilst being taken aback by the rapid passage of time.
Some that he believes have gone underrated when taking a trip down memory lane.
“What doesn’t get talked about enough is that Milwaukee series,” Powell explained. “When we went down (2-0) and had to win those games on the road … that playoff series against Milwaukee, I honestly think that was the shift.
“Everybody was counting us out, everybody thought that run was over … pretty much saying we were dead in the water. So to go to Milwaukee and get that done was huge.”
Powell went on to mention how it was thanks to contributions up and down the lineup that they were able to pull off a reverse sweep of the Bucks, noting how he, Fred VanVleet and Pascal Siakam all left their marks on that series. The San Diego native definitely did his part, scoring 19 and 18 points in Toronto’s pivotal Games 3 and 4 wins in Milwaukee en route to advancing.
And when he hears folks around the league speaking on that 2019 team, even six years later, he’s glad it gets the recognition it deserves as a deeply talented roster.
“I think so,” Powell said when asked if he believes the Raptors’ championship has become more respected over time. “The development of the young guys on that team, and where we’re at now, and seeing the progression … this year, I was in all-star consideration, Fred’s the head of Houston … Pascal’s been killing it with another all-star year and a leader on the Pacers … OG (Anunoby) as well with the Knicks, everything he’s been able to do, becoming literally a household name.
“I just think the development of that young group shows how good we were and how much depth we had and how much potential that team had with the development of us and where we’re at with our careers.”
All good things come to an end, however, and the Raptors’ run of success was no exception.
After the championship-defence campaign was derailed by a global pandemic, wiping away all the momentum from a 46-18 start, Toronto wasn’t able to recapture that title-winning magic once action resumed.
“We thought we had a chance until the league shut down,” Powell said.
When basketball returned under COVID guidelines in the NBA bubble, the Raptors were eventually bounced in the East semis by the Boston Celtics, and that “chance” never really came back for Powell, with Toronto at least.
Midway through the following season — the moribund “Tampa Tank” in 2020-21 —Powell was shipped off to Portland in exchange for Gary Trent Jr., and while the departure was labelled as mutually beneficial as the guard was getting ready to sign his next deal, that’s not how he viewed it.
“I didn’t have any contract talks with (the Raptors front office), we didn’t even get that far,” Powell said. “I wanted to be there, I didn’t want to leave, but I know it’s a business.”
Now a member of the Los Angeles Clippers, having just wrapped up a breakout campaign averaging a career high 21.8 points, the former second-rounder (46th overall in 2015) felt as though his exit from the franchise was, in some ways, the beginning of the end for that era.
“People still say they can’t believe I was traded. People say that was kind of like the shift in that team, after I got traded … and everything with Kyle (Lowry) leaving, getting Scottie (Barnes), and everything like that kind of unfolded after I was traded.”
Yet despite a less-than-ideal departure, the former Raptor still spoke highly of his time in Toronto, even pushing back on comments made by other alumni of the team.
“I’m surprised that more players, since I’ve left, have said that, you know, their disappointments or how it was such a hard thing (playing in Canada),” Powell said.
He went on to note how things such as international travel or weather in Toronto during the season were things he considered minor inconveniences and “didn’t put a damper on everything else that Canada and Toronto had to offer.”
“I remember talking to Fred all the time like ‘Yo, this is amazing.’ We have so much more reach, do so much more, because we’re the only (basketball) team in Canada … there was so much more to offer. I think I had a more positive, optimistic outlook on everything and enjoying the perks of being a Raptor.”
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