Stanley Johnson Shares Why He Signed with the Raptors & How Much He Loves Toronto

Former Raptors wing Stanley Johnson explains why he signed with the Toronto Raptors in 2019 and how much he loved his time in the city

For Stanley Johnson, Toronto was almost perfect.

No, his tenure with the Toronto Raptors didn’t quite turn out as anyone would have hoped. The former No. 8 overall pick was trying to resurrect his career back in 2019 when he signed with Toronto, and it didn’t entirely work out. But Toronto was “amazing,” the former Raptor said on the Run Your Race podcast.

Johnson said he had offers to sign elsewhere back in 2019 including at least one that was more lucrative than the two-year, $7.43 million deal he ended up signing with Toronto. For him, though, the Raptors were an opportunity to join one of the league’s premiere developmental organizations.

“I saw Norman (Powell) and O.G. (Anunoby), that they developed them,” Johnson said. “But for me, I had a conversation with Masai (Ujiri), Niko (Carino), Bobby (Webster), and then just understanding what they bring to the table was an easy sell.”

Johnson said his time in Toronto changed the way he played basketball. He learned how to deal with closeouts under head coach Nick Nurse, something he’d never quite been able to grasp during his time with the Detroit Pistons.

“Once I got to Toronto where they had real leadership, real direction, and it was more of a college situation, I started figuring out the league a little more,” he added.

Off the court, Johnson loved Toronto too. For all the flack the city gets as the lone Canadian team, Johnson said the city was one of the most amazing places in the world.

“I really enjoyed myself there. From basketball culture to culture in general, it was two of the most amazing years of my life,” he said.

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