Local product RJ Barrett's 33-point effort paced the Toronto Raptors to an emphatic Game 3 home victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Thursday.Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press
RJ Barrett and A.J. Lawson faced the oversized Canadian flag that covered the Toronto Raptors logo at centre court.
For the first time in each player’s career, they were playing playoff basketball in their home country. As the pair stood on the court Thursday night, a patriotic fervour enveloped the sellout crowd at Scotiabank Arena.
Thousands joined the anthem singer in belting O Canada. The crowd reached crescendoes on the words “free” and “north,” the latter a word synonymous with the Raptors.
Among the masses were Lawson’s friends, family and his parents, something that means everything to the 25-year-old.
“I first picked up basketball in the city of Toronto,” Lawson said. “To have them in attendance for the game really matters a lot to me.”
And to make his home playoff debut alongside his Canadian counterpart?
“It’s just surreal to see how two people from the same area can make it out and actually be on the same team playing for their city in the playoffs,” Lawson said. “We’ve both been planning out our dreams since [we were] young and we’re finally living it.”
“A.J., that’s my boy,” Barrett said. “We’ve known each other since the third grade.”
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It’s not the first time Canadian players have made their Toronto playoff debuts. But none had the name recognition or ability of Barrett, the 25-year-old from adjacent Mississauga.
In his first Toronto-based playoff game, Barrett set a postseason career high in points with 33. Scottie Barnes (33) and Collin Murray-Boyles (22) also notched career bests in Thursday’s Game 3 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Raptors trail 2-1 in the first-round playoff series, with Game 4 set to take place in Toronto on Sunday afternoon.
Among the thousands watching Thursday’s win, a small number wore Serge Ibaka, Dell Curry and DeMar DeRozan jerseys. There were many in Brandon Ingram’s red and a smattering of Barnes’s white jerseys.
And of course, a sprinkling of Barrett.
One of those donning the Canadian’s jersey was 10-year-old Levi Whitty from Nova Scotia.
After a late-night drive from Cape Breton Island, N.S., to Halifax late Wednesday night, he, his older brother, Max, and aunt, Chelsea Hatcher, hopped on a plane to Toronto. The trio landed in the city the morning of Game 3.
After landing, the brothers rode the train for the first time, got Raptors jerseys at the mall and arrived at Scotiabank Arena well before the doors opened.
“He’s my favourite player,” Levi said about why he chose to get a Barrett jersey.
Why is the Canadian his favourite player?
“Because he’s good,” the 10-year-old succinctly put it.
Max, 13, opted for Barnes.
“I like his defence,” he said. “I think he’s the second-best defender in the league after [Victor Wembanyama].”
Scottie Barnes' two-way play helped the Raptors avoid a sweep and pull within a win of equalizing the series.Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press
Hatcher said seeing the Raptors, and especially Barrett and Lawson, up close is a “dream come true” for her nephews.
“They’re just good role models. These boys, they’re ballers. They love basketball,” Hatcher said. “We’re from a very tiny place off the Cabot Trail on Cape Breton Island, and basketball is huge there.”
Elsewhere on the 100-level, John Ye wore a black Barrett jersey.
His son, Ben, who loaded up his burger with whatever fixings he craved, stood behind him. The jersey on Ye’s back was originally the grand prize at a family poker night for Ben’s great-grandmother’s 90th birthday.
“He spent the whole night at the table trying to win chips, borrowing chips from other kids to make sure he had enough raffle tickets to try to win the prize,” Ye said.
Ben won the jersey. But rather than keeping it for himself, he thought it’d make a great Christmas gift for his Raptors-loving father.
“It was totally unexpected, so it was heartwarming,” Ye said. “He’s at the age where they have empathy, they want to give back, and as a parent, it’s very special.
“Being minorities ourselves, I think representation,” Ye added, explaining why Barrett playing in Toronto means so much to him. “Especially for baseball and basketball, Toronto’s teams are Canada’s teams, so it’s inspirational to see Canadian players play at home.”
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After his son finished topping his burger, the pair – with Ye wearing the jersey he called a “good-luck charm” – continued to their seats to watch the Raptors’ first home playoff game since 2022.
In the first quarter, it seemed Ye’s good-luck charm paid off.
Barrett’s first three-pointer brought the crowd to its feet. Then he hit another. And another.
Each triple earned rounds of applause and thunderous cheers.
By the end of the quarter, Barrett had 11 points. By the end of the game, he’d comfortably eclipsed his previous playoff career best of 26 points.
Lawson’s first on-court appearance came in the final minutes of the contest.
But for the Canadians roaming the concourse, ordering burgers or belting the country’s anthem, seeing two of Canada’s own make their Toronto playoff debuts was special in itself.
“People say you’re playing for a country. It’s true,” Ye said. “When you play at the Olympics, you put a flag on your back, and [here], it’s all wrapped into one for somebody like Barrett.”