The Toronto Raptors were one of the two expansion Canadian teams that officially entered the NBA in 1995, with the Vancouver Grizzlies being the other.
Detroit Pistons legend Isiah Thomas, who’s still fresh from his retirement the previous year, was the Raptors’ Vice President of Basketball Operations at that time. He had the tall task of building the franchise from the ground up.
The expansion draft provided some nice acquisitions, including John Salley, whom Thomas won two championships with in Detroit, and Oliver Miller, a bulky big man who was on the rise. Three-time champion BJ Armstrong and veteran forward Jerome Kersey were also selected but both got traded soon after.
Everyone knew, though, that the more crucial decision was awaiting at the draft. Every class has players filled with upside, so the likely face of the franchise could be in there.
In a recent interview with Heavy.com, Thomas talked about the process and how he liked high school phenom Kevin Garnett.
“The first guy I scouted was Kevin Garnett … I wanted to make him the first pick for the Toronto Raptors franchise.”
Isiah Thomas
The Raptors had the seventh pick in the draft but he was confident that Garnett would fall on their lap, believing teams would be reluctant to use a lottery pick on a “skinny kid straight out of high school.” It was an accurate assessment back in ’95, when front offices still preferred college rookies, particularly the upperclassmen.
That is, however, until Thomas’s former Eastern Conference foe and current Minnesota Timberwolves counterpart Kevin McHale called and asked about Garnett – they were picking fifth, two spots ahead of the Raptors. The two talked about it as friends rather than competitors as Thomas gave a subtle recommendation by saying “If you don’t draft him, I will.”
McHale and the Wolves went on to draft Garnett, while Thomas used their selection on University of Arizona point guard Damon Stoudamire.
It looked like a really good pick for Toronto at first. ‘Mighty Mouse’ averaged 19 points and 9.3 assists per game en route to a landslide Rookie of the Year win. In March of that season, Stoudamire even guided the Raptors into a cardiac 109-108 win over Michael Jordan and the 72-10 Chicago Bulls, scoring 30 points and dishing 11 assists.
The 19-year-old Garnett, meanwhile, was fairly solid, compiling 10.4 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 1.6 blocks per contest.
As we all know now, though, Garnett was the better pick in the long run as he grew into the franchise player that every team derams. While in Minnesota from 1995-2007, KG stacked up all-around numbers and All-Star, All-NBA, and All-Defense team selections, topped off by winning the NBA MVP award in 2004. Before winding down his career, he also became a main piece in the Boston Celtics’ 2008 championship run.
Garnett will be inducted into the basketball Hall-of-Fame this year. He’s the only player from the 1995 rookie class to enter the club.
