
Member Reviews

In We the Raptors: Thirty Players, Thirty Stories, Thirty Years, authors Eric Smith and Andrew Bricker profile thirty athletes who have suited up for the Toronto Raptors NBA franchise. Eric Smith has covered the Toronto Raptors in various capacities for nearly 30 years, while co-author Andrew Bricker is an Associate Professor of English literature at Ghent University.
Each of the profile chapters focuses on one player, providing an overview of their career before and after joining the Raptors, discussing how their experience with the Raptors panned out, and offering reflections on the time they spent in Toronto. The players profiled include starters, glue guys, role players, and those who made it to the NBA against the odds after being undrafted.
Some, like Danny Green and Jimmy King, were with Toronto only a short period of time, while others, like Jonas Valanciunas or Norman Powell, spent a longer time with the Toronto club. Though the players included weren’t the super stars, their recollections giver readers a sense of what it was like to play with Vince Carter, Chris Bosh, Kawhi Leonard, Kyle Lowry, or other big names.
The book is divided into sections representing different eras of Raptors’ history: The Expansion Era, Vinsanity, The Bosh Era, and The Golden Era and Beyond. Prefacing each of these section is a brief overview. In addition, there are periodic short chapters offering “Raptors Moments,” describing events like Kobe Bryant’s 81-point game against the Raptors, the Raptors’ first game in the Air Canada Centre, and others.
As a sports fan living in Ontario, I followed radio and newspaper reports about the Raptors’ games with interest. Around ten years ago, I started to follow the team more closely, watching many of the games during both regular season and playoffs. Because of this, I was more familiar with the players mentioned in the second half of the book, like Garrett Temple, Patrick Patterson, Danny Green, Bismack Biyombo, and Cory Joseph. Nonetheless, I still found the chapters covering the earlier players like Tracy Murray, Doug Christie, Matt Bonner, and others interesting, both for the insights into the players themselves and the information about the team and what it was like to play for the Raptors at that time.
The authors allow the personality of each individual player come through in their choice of quotes. The smooth-reading text belies the hard work that went behind its creation—in the “Acknowledgements,” it’s noted that hours and hours of interviews and follow-ups were required with the players as the book took shape.
The chapter lengths hit the Goldilocks zone for me—not too long, and not too short. I found myself wanting to read “just one more chapter” on many occasions as I worked my way through the book. With the enthusiasm with which the Toronto Raptors are received across the country, We the Raptors should find a broad audience.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advance copy of this book provided by the publisher, Simon & Schuster, via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for this complementary ARC in exchange for my honest review!
We the Raptors takes the reader through interviews with 30 different former Raptors players - from the early days right up to a few current players. Each section goes through the player's experience in a different era of the Raptors, including their experience with the city of Toronto and the fans. Although it can be repetitive at times as players cross through similar time periods, playoff series, etc., there is lots of interesting and new information for each player.
The challenge with a book like this is getting the right mix of players - you do feel that there are some obvious big Raptors players missing (Carter, Leonard, Derozan, etc.) but I felt like those stories have already been told elsewhere so getting new perspectives from a different set of players made for a good read.
Would recommend to any Raptors fan!

Strap in for the longest review I’ve ever written because I adored this book so much!!
The title alone.. I loved it. We the North.. We The Raptors. I get the vibe. I love it. I wish I could quote the book but it’s an ARC so I’m not allowed. * insert section from Eric’s final intro paragraph here*
I always take notes when I review books and my first note was
“A forward by Kyle Lowry and a shoutout to big Val and Jamaal Magloire?? I’m so ready”
But reading the first paragraph truly did not prepare me for how much I would LOVE this book.
It’s evident that so much thought and care went into its creation. The author Eric Smith has been covering the Raptors for 20+ years. This alone blew my mind because he’s who I’ve always referred to as the “young guy” when watching games and seeing the sportscasters (I’m so sorry Jack, Paul, and Matt). Eric did such an amazing job curating interviews for this book and his introduction was fascinating.
The book is organized by eras, and I loved the consideration that went into deciding to organize the book this way (which is discussed in the book).
The eras are
• Expansion era 1995-2000
• Vinsanity 1998-2004
• The bosh era 2003-2010 (when I started watching/ gained consciousness to know what I was watching)
• The golden era and beyond 2013-2025
Each era includes chapters for players during that era highlighting their time with the team and what they loved about Toronto.
There’s also a nice lil intro explaining the era before diving into players chapters for each section. Plus interspersed in each era is a key Raptors moment.
Reading about the pre 2000 stuff was so fascinating for me since I never knew that much about how the team was started and the atmosphere of basketball in Toronto before the Raptors (I’m sorry I can’t help what year I’m born lol). It made me realise tho that new and old fans alike would thoroughly enjoy this book.
Notable players included (for me) in the book were Tracy Murray, Antonio Davis, Matt Bonner, Jason Kapono, Jamaal Magloire, Jonas Valančiūnas, Cory Joseph, Danny Green, Norman Powell, and RJ Barrett. As a Raptors fan tho I honestly loved reading every player’s chapter.
Before I even got to reading about the players, I got emotional reading Kyle’s forward. It felt like a feel-good book. The entire time I was reading I was excited reading it and smiling. I love my city and I love my team and my country so much. I genuinely was never bored when reading. It effortlessly flowed.
The book is written in third person with first person quotes from all the players.
I loved the praise for the city EVERY player gave. I laughed at how so many thought Toronto was so far and didn’t know where it was but loved it after they came. Plus, so many calling us the cleaner safer New York, shouting out Caribana, our food scene, and how multicultural the city is. I already knew lots of players even after moving on from the city continue to come back because they loved it so much but reading it myself made me feel warm and fuzzy. Plus, the love players mention when they got traded and played on other teams. How they’d still get standing ovations when back in Toronto. Made me so happy this was recognized by players. I remember being in the stands the first time Cory Joseph was playing against us after being traded and standing to cheer for him not just cuz he was from my hometown of Pickering but because in my heart he was a Raptor. (Cheesy I know)
It was so fun to get a look into the atmosphere in the city and the league and team. Their origin and history and tidbits of behind-the-scenes info.
Without giving too much away cuz I can’t quote the ARC some of my fav things included were:
• Hearing Villanueva regrets
• Where Patterson was when he got traded to Toronto
• JV and Home Depot (surprised his Wasaga moment wasn’t mentioned)
• The entire Red Mamba chapter
• Jamal talking about being one of only 3 Canadian players
Side note- I would love to know if anyone turned down interview or inclusion cuz I’m nosy
Notable mentions throughout the book for me were Paul Jones (oakwood Collegiate icon), Jack Armstrong, Doug Smith, plus all the coaches. I was also thrilled my fav player JV, hometown fav Cory Joseph, and newest fav RJ Barrett were in it.
I also loved the pictures included at the end (some I recognize from Erics IG LOL)
This book will go down in history as a spectacular sports book.
I’ve never gotten an ARC that EVERYONE in my family has loved hearing me yap about so much. My dad will be getting this book for Christmas and so will all of his close friends. AMD THAT’S HUGE because I love my dad but he reads one book a year and THIS will be the book!! My family was so thrilled that I was given this ARC. My dad and his friends and my family already have plans to discuss it together once it’s published. I’ve already gotten 5 ppl to preorder it too lol.
My family has been Raptors fans since day one, and before we had a team, they loved the Celtics and were watching other NBA games. Reading this book was such a great experience since I had a chance to relive with my parents them seeing the games at the SkyDome and hear stories of them meeting a teenage Jamaal Magloire. I could honestly write an essay on how much myself and my family loves the Raptors, our connection to the team, and the MANY memories we have together surrounding the team. So, as a fan, reading this book was a dream come true.
I already know this book will be a bestseller because so many other fans, Canadians, and Torontonians alike will feel the same way.
READ THIS BOOK!! You’ll love it, I promise.
Thank you so much Simon and Schuster and Eric Smith for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.