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Hi, this is Fred Wallace with ” Off the Wire “.
Pascal Siakam of the Toronto Raptors was named to the All-NBA Second Team this week.
The selection of Siakam is justly deserved after he averaged a career high of almost 23 points per game this season and generally played more than 35 minutes per night over 60 games last season.
Historically, the number of Raptors to make the year end All Star squads is small.
Siakam joins Vince Carter & DeMar DeRozen who were both named twice to the All NBA teams along with Chris Bosh, Kyle Lowry and Kawhi Leonard.
It’s a slim but impressive list out of Toronto.
Among the many highlights for Siakam was being voted to be a starter in his first NBA All-Star Game in Chicago and twice this year he was named Eastern Conference Player of the Week.
Of course, there’s no shortage of basketball fans who will quickly point out that Siakam wasn’t overwhelming when needed in the NBA Playoff bubble.
And to a certain extent, that’s fair.
But a little perspective, please.
One, Siakam has played just 4 seasons in the NBA, and at age 26, he might just be approaching his prime, with the best yet to come.
Two, have a look at the names who were placed on the first All-NBA team; LeBron James, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Luka Doncic, Anthony Davis and James Harden, Those are big names and Siakam could very well displace any one of them in the short term or with the passage of time.
And 3, Pascal Siakam isn’t the only star, in basketball or elsewhere in sports, to languish on a big sporting stage.
We all know great hockey players who have come up empty in the playoffs, sluggers who have struggled in the World Series or prominent golfers who let certain championships slip away, so I’ll cut Siakam some slack for the 2020 NBA Playoffs with the honest belief bigger days are still ahead for him and the Raptors.
I’m Fred Wallace
