Top Raptors Stories of 2025: After passing Vince Carter, Chris Boucher reflects on his Raptors journey
Welcome to Raptors Republic’s new New Year tradition. As decided by you, the readers, it’s time to dive into the 10 most-read editorials of the year at Raptors Republic. You can find the full top-10 list of released articles for 2025 (as each one is released) here.
I limited the list to editorials because news items and other pieces can often have more reads than columns. But these pieces — and I’m including post-game pieces — are the ones that take the most work, and in my eyes have the most value. So they’re the ones included in this list.
The year of 2025 has been one defined maybe most by wild swings of emotion for the Toronto Raptors. Toronto traded for Brandon Ingram, which allowed it to continue to tank to end the year. Then the team didn’t rise in the draft and added Collin Murray-Boyles. The season started, and the team looked great! (For one game.) Then terrible, then great, now terrible again. A real roller coaster.
Through it all, there has been comprehensive coverage here at Raptors Republic. Some of the top stories include reactions to that trade for Ingram, that Murray-Boyles pick, the collapse of the team’s fortunes over the previous few weeks. We’ve been here, with you, watching it all unfold. If 2026 is anything similar, we could lose five years of our lives.
Without further ado, the No. 6 most-read story at Raptors Republic of 2025: “After passing Vince Carter, Chris Boucher reflects on his Raptors journey” by William Lou
Granted, very few people knew Boucher back then either. In 2018, he got an invite to summer league and to training camp, then signed a two-way deal and was stashed in Mississauga. He went on to average 27 points, 11 rebounds, and four blocks for Raptors 905, earning him G-League MVP and DPOY honors, but again, who was really around for all that? (That nerd Blake Murphy doesn’t count.)
“I was so pissed,” Boucher said of his start with the team. “I went to training camp, they gave me a 10-day, and I wanted a contract. Then they gave me a two-way, and I was so pissed because I just came back from a two-way and I felt like I was way better than that.
“At the beginning of the year, I felt like I was with the team, I’m with Kawhi (Leonard) and Danny (Green), with Kyle (Lowry) and I was watching them play, and I was like ‘Okay I’m going to be here.’ And then they sent me back to the G-League and I realized, ‘Oh, damn it’s not going to be like that.’
“The travel (was tough), I had a roommate and all, so at the time I was really pissed that year. But I also told myself that I was going to use that anger in the G-League, and that really ended up paying off. I ended up playing really good, got MVP and DPOY, and that same year I got converted, so I never really looked back from there.”
You can read the rest of the piece here. And tune in tomorrow for number five!
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