Mighty Mouse pic.twitter.com/Wb0mRcsaJF
— John Brisker (@JohnBrisker2021) July 7, 2021
If you ask the casual basketball fan who the original Toronto Raptors star was who had battles with Michael Jordan, set NBA rookie records, won Rookie Of The Year, and left the city on a sour note, they are going to say “Vince Carter.”
The correct answer is Damon Stoudamire aka Mighty Mouse aka the current head coach of the Georgia Tech men’s basketball team.
And if you were a Raptors fan during the first years of the franchise that NOBODY wanted to play for despite the cool-looking dinosaur jerseys, you probably remember these events:
June 28, 1995: The Raptors used their first-ever draft pick (7th) on the 5’10” Stoudamire and got booed because the fanbase wanted UCLA Champion Ed 0’Bannon (who only lasted two years in the league).
Stoudamire was actually shocked he didn’t go in the top five, which was dominated by bigs. And considering the Raptors’ GM was Isiah Thomas, a “little man” that Stoudamire looked up to growing up, he was confident Thomas would pick him.
“He gotta pick me,” Said Stoudamire. “He gotta see the similarities in our games, I know he had to pick me.”
He was right. Then the late Craig Sager asked the new Raptor about the boos, and Stoudamire told him he wasn’t worried.
“Once I play, they’ll be fine. They can’t take this moment.”
November 3, 1995: The Raptors played and won their first NBA game, and won it by 15 points against O’Bannon and the Nets. Stoudamire had a double-double (10 points and 10 assists), the first of three straight to start the season. O’Bannon had 4 points (1/6 FG) in 16 minutes off the bench.
November 21, 1995: In just the 11th game of the franchise, Stoudamire records the first triple-double in franchise history: 20 points, 12 rebounds, 10 assists, and 4 steals in a win against Gary Payton and the Seattle Sonics team that went on to the NBA Finals.
February 10, 1996: Stoudamire won MVP at the 1996 Rookie Game after putting up 19 points, 11 assists, and 4 steals in a win. The game featured a lot of talent, including Kevin Garnett, Rasheed Wallace, Jerry Stackhouse, Antonio McDyess, 31-year-old Arvydas Sabonis, Big Country, and Michael “beer thief” Finley.
March 24, 1996: The Raptors beat the 72-10 Bulls by a single point in front of a record-setting crowd of 36,131 people. Stoudamire had 30 points (6/8 3PT) and 11 assists.
On this day in 1996, the Raptors took down MJ and the Bulls at the Skydome. One for the books.
Open Gym: Moment presented by @Bell pic.twitter.com/TSiW3JOSH2
— Toronto Raptors (@Raptors) March 24, 2025
Bulls reserve John Salley has come up with a lot of excuses for the loss, ranging from a hangover to being too relaxed because of how bad the Raptors were:
“We relaxed, to tell you the truth, because we were playing the worst team in the league,” Said Salley. “It was springtime, and most guys are phoning it in. We took them for granted.”
That explanation was funnier than anything I heard Salley say when he was trying to be a stand-up comedian.
Even though that was the only win against the 72-10 Bulls, Stoudamire was impressive in all four games against them that season:
- 30 PTS, 11 AST, 6 3PT, W (52% FG)
- 26 PTS, 12 AST (50% FG)
- 20 PTS, 13 AST, 8 REB (37% FG)
- 22 PTS, 10 AST, 6 REB (53% FG)
May 15, 1996: Raptors GM Isiah Thomas, the man who drafted Stoudamire instead of fan favorite Ed O’Bannon, presented Stoudamire with the Rookie Of The Year trophy. He then kissed him on the cheek and told the crowd, “Never take this man for granted because you are not going to see too many guys like this come along.”
The shortest Rookie Of The Year winner also broke the NBA rookie record for made threes in a season: 133!!! The previous record was 101 by Jamal Mashburn. Worth noting, the NBA shortened the three-point line during the 1994-95 season. To show how much the game has changed during the 3-point evolution, the current rookie record belongs to Keegan Murray, who made 206 threes during the 2022-23 season.
Rookie Stats: 19 points (43% FG), 9.3 assists, 4 rebounds, 1.4 steals, 3.8 turnovers.
THE SECOND SEASON
The Raptors used the second pick in arguably the greatest draft ever to select Marcus Camby. You might be thinking Camby Man over names like Shareef Abdur-Rahim, Marbury, Ray Allen, Antoine Walker, Steve Nash, and that high school kid named Kobe was an awful pick, but it made 100% sense at that time. The team needed defense, and the future NBA Defensive Player Of The Year was the NCAA Player Of The Year and best shot blocker in the draft.
Another thing people don’t know or remember about expansion teams is that the NBA prevented them from winning the No. 1 pick in their first three seasons, even if their ping pong ball came up first.
What if the Raptors ended up with the first overall pick? Would they have passed on Allen Iverson for Camby? Most likely because there’s no way they would have tried to pair AI with Stoudamire, who followed up his spectacular rookie campaign with a solid sophomore season: 20.2 points, 8.8 assists, and 4.1 boards while playing 40 minutes a game for 81 games. Unfortunately, only 30 of those games resulted in wins.
They finished 8th in their division and were back in the lottery.
THE THIRD AND FINAL SEASON
Stoudamire’s third and final season with the Raptors was a wild one. It starts with the team drafting future Hall of Famer Tracy McGrady out of high school with the 9th pick. T-Mac had such a slow start that head coach Darrell Walker said the rookie might be out of the league in three seasons.
Then, in November, GM Isiah Thomas announced his resignation. He was reportedly trying to buy out the majority owner, and when he wasn’t able to do it, he left the team and sold his 9% ownership stake.
Due to his close relationship with Thomas, a frustrated Stoudamire asked for a trade.
“To see someone every day, to have a dialogue with them, and then boom, all of a sudden they’re not there anymore, that messed me up,” said Stoudamire. “I didn’t really know where I stood, even though I knew where I stood. I just wanted my way. It was immaturity as well.”
After a last-minute failed trade to the Rockets and discussions with the Knicks, the Raptors sent Stoudamire back to his hometown of Portland in a deal for Kenny Anderson, Gary Trent, Alvin Williams, and a few future picks. Since Anderson refused to report to the Raptors, they traded him to the Celtics for a package that included rookie Chauncey Billups.
Blazers GM Bob Whitsitt was ecstatic:
“Damon, quite simply, we think is one of the best point guards in the NBA. I think the experience he’s had with Toronto the past 2 ½ years might be similar to five or six years in the NBA, because to have to endure some losing makes you grow up in this league a lot.”
Stoudamire was just happy to be going to a team that wasn’t lottery-bound:
“I’m glad to be going to a situation where I can win. The Blazers are an up-and-coming young team that will be going to the playoffs every year.”
After the trade, Raptors coach Darrell Walker resigned ON THE SAME DAY!
“I just thought that if they were going to trade Damon, they were going in a different direction than I wanted to. I don’t mind coaching an expansion team, but I wanted to see some light at the end of the tunnel. I don’t see any light.”
And the team was back in the lottery after winning just 16 games. It’s hard to feel too bad for them because they ended up with Vince Carter in that upcoming lottery, and that is where the story of the Raptors’ first SUPER STAR starts.
THE KYLE LOWRY CONNECTION
When the Raptors won their first and only NBA Championship in 2019, Kyle Lowry wore a Stoudamire Raptors jersey during the celebration parade. The reason is because Stoudamire was Lowry’s mentor during his rookie season in 2006-07 with the Memphis Grizzlies.
Lowry, who many consider the “greatest Raptor of all time” also has the most triple-doubles in Raptors history (16), a record once owned by the first star in Raptors history: Damon Stoudamire aka Mighty Mouse.