Locked On Raptors - Daily Podcast On The Toronto Raptors

In Episode 723, Sean is joined by former Canadian national team player and Raptors 905 radio analyst Jevohn Shepherd to discuss the ongoing lack of diversity in Raptors media circles, the challenges he's faced in his attempts to enter the broadcasting field, and some of the things that need to be addressed in the interest of elevating Black voices covering both the Raptors and North American basketball at large going forward. They begin by addressing the ongoing situation with regards to the George Floyd protests taking place worldwide, before discussing the overwhelming majority of NBA play-by-play chairs being held by white men, and much more. Thanks for listening, and if you have the means, please consider making a donation to the Canadian Association of Black Journalists: https://www.cabj.news/donations

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In Episode 722, Sean, Katie and Vivek have an overdue conversation about the past week's protests in response to the murder of George Floyd, and the show's responsibility to be involved in the conversation as a podcast that mainly covers Black athletes. They address their decision to not address a mailbag question about the Floyd protests last week and why they should have devoted time to it, the various responses from within the Raptors organization, and ways in which they're each trying to educate and better prepare themselves for the fight that will not stop at the end of this news cycle.

For the month of June, all ad revenue earned by Locked On Raptors will be donated to Black Lives Matter - Toronto. If you have the means, consider donating yourself at https://blacklivesmatter.ca/

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Built Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go to builtbar.com and use promo code “LOCKEDON,” and you’ll get $10 off your first order.

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In Episode 721, Sean, Katie and Vivek finish off their two-part mailbag episode. Today's questions include: if given the opportunity to choose a roommate from any team inside the Disney bubble, who would each Raptors shack up with and which team Sean, Vivek and Katie are most excited to see the Raptors potentially play in the opening round of the bubble playoffs. A question about the Raptors' All-Time Fun Starting Five also turns into a full on fantasy draft. Enjoy!

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In Episode 720, Sean, Katie and Vivek team up on the Zoom for another round of mailbag question answering. In part one of two, they address questions about how they'll celebrate the first anniversary of the Raptors winning the title, which Raptors would be well-suited to hosting off-season charity games, and which members of the title team are in line to have their jerseys retired. They also come up with different ways to honour players and moments in franchise history, including a suggestion that the Raptor costume be suspended above the arena whenever the performer inside of it retires.

Be good to each other, and if you have the means, might I suggest donating some money to the Minnesota Freedom Fund: https://minnesotafreedomfund.org/.

Built Bar

Built Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go to builtbar.com and use promo code “LOCKEDON,” and you’ll get $10 off your first order.

Blinkist

Right now, for a limited time Blinkist has a special offer just for our audience: Go to Blinkist.com/NBA try it FREE for 7 days AND save 25% off your new subscription.

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In Episode 719, Sean and Vivek discuss the growing momentum for an NBA return in a Disneyland bubble, and a pair of playoff formats that have been proposed. First, they try to determine whether or not it's even smart for the league to post up at Disney. Next they debate the pros and cons of seeding the postseason 1 through 16 and doing away with conferences. Lastly, they both poo-poo the most recently reported theoretical format: a 20-team group stage tournament to determine the final eight teams in the bracket.

Built Bar

Built Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go to builtbar.com and use promo code “LOCKEDON,” and you’ll get $10 off your first order.

Blinkist

Right now, for a limited time Blinkist has a special offer just for our audience: Go to

Blinkist.com/NBA try it FREE for 7 days AND save 25% off your new subscription.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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In Episode 718, Sean and Vivek Jacob discuss what might have happened had Jorge Garbajosa's rookie season in Toronto not been cut short by a catastrophic knee injury. They ponder whether the Raps might have beaten a top-heavy Nets team in the opening round with Garbo in the lineup, and how a potential second-round series with LeBron's Cavs may have shaken out. Next they imagine how the Bosh-era Raps might have fared over the next few years if Garbo hadn't been forced out of the league by his injury, and wrap up by trying to figure out where the Spanish legend ranked among Chris Bosh teammates during the Colangelo era. It's depressingly high.

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In Episode 718, Sean is joined by Raptors 905 assistant coach and new head coach of the CEBL's Hamilton Honey Badgers. Sean and Ryan start off by discussing the reasons why Canada's fledgling pro league appealed to him as a place to take the next step in his career and the relationship he has with fellow 905 assistant and Guelph Nighthawks head coach Charles Kissi. Flipping focus to the Raptors, they discuss Ryan's work behind the scenes during the Raptors' run to the 2019 NBA Title, how the connection between the 905 and the big club has helped shape him as a coach, and his thoughts on Raptors two-way players Oshae Brissett and Paul Watson's future trajectories. They close things out with a few rapid fire questions, which reveal how much healthier Ryan is than Sean, to no one's surprise.

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In Episode 716, Sean and Katie continued to discuss the list of 10 rejected names that the expansion Raptors could have been named. Today's names from the original Toronto Star poll include the Towers, Scorpions, T-Rex, Tarantulas and, ugh, Terriers. Would the Towers have been doomed to second-round-and-out playoff runs for eternity? How might the Scorpions moniker have affected Toronto's in-game music choices? Would the T-Rex have been an equally powerful dinosaur name to Raptors? What levels of fright could a Tarantula mascot have reached? What the hell was "Terriers" even doing in this conversation. We answer all those questions and more!

Built Bar

Built Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go to builtbar.com and use promo code “LOCKEDON,” and you’ll get $10 off your first order.

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In Episode 715, Sean and Katie run through the first half of the list of ten names that were up for election back when the Raptors were on the verge of joining the NBA. They run through the rejected Beavers, Bobcats, Dragons, Grizzlies and Hogs monikers and discuss whether or not they would have been acceptable names in place of "Raptors." What would the colour schemes and mascots have looked like? How might the spirit of each turned down option have been imbued into the on-court character of the team? Just how horrible would the Toronto Hogs have been? We answer those questions and more in part one of a two part chat. Names 6 through 10 on Monday!

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In Episode 714, Sean is joined by Brad Vermunt (Too Much Hoops) to examine an alternate reality in which Andrea Bargnani was actually good at basketball, and how it might have altered Raptors history. First discuss what the end of the Chris Bosh era might have looked like with Bargs as a fringe All-Star, and whether Bryan Colangelo would have held off on trading for Jermaine O'Neal. Then they dive into how the post-Bosh Raptors might have fared with a competent Bargnani as the team's foundation. Lastly, they try to determine if and when the Colangelo era would have ended if Bargnani were really good, whether Masai Ujiri would have joined the the team, and just how much more willing James Dolan might have been to trade for Kyle Lowry had Il Mago not been such a disastrous trade acquisition.

Built Bar

Built Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go to builtbar.com and use promo code “LOCKEDON,” and you’ll get $10 off your first order.

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