What is the defining feature of the Toronto Raptors’ three decades as a franchise?
That’s the question Raptors radio host Eric Smith and his brother-in-law turned co-author, Andrew Bricker, asked themselves when dreaming up their project. Bricker, who teaches English literature at Ghent University in Belgium, is a long-time basketball fan. Smith, as fans know, is the radio voice of the team. They knew they had the right elements as a team to write a great book about the Raptors; it was just figuring
out where they could lend their perspective to the narrative.
Doug Smith had written about the team’s history at the 25-year mark in his book, Alex Wong’s Prehistoric took fans through the conception and first season of the franchise. There wasn’t a need for another historical book about this team, not yet anyway.
As Smith travelled for Raptors games, one thing started to become abundantly clear to him — there are Raptors fans everywhere. No matter if he were in Sacramento, New Orleans, Miami or any of the NBA’s other cities, Raptors jerseys were visible in the stands. He started noticing that while many of them were the usual Lowry, DeRozan, Leonard, Carter, and Bosh jerseys that are so popular to this day, there were just as many jerseys for the “other guys.” The ones that aren’t brought up in “GOAT” conversations, but still contributed to the success and culture of the Toronto Raptors. Smith constantly saw people donning jerseys for guys like Powell, Valanciunas, Barrett, Hansbrough, Calderon and more over the years.
“Toronto’s very much a blue-collar city,” says Smith in an exclusive interview with Raptors HQ, “I think there’s plenty of hard workers and grinders, and the fan base of the Jays, of the Leafs, of the Raptors, appreciates those blue collar, bring their lunch pail to work kind of guys, as much as if not more than the stars.”
The duo realized this was where there was a gap in the conversation about this team’s history. We spend so much time talking about the GOATs (for good reason), but the “glue” guys deserve their spotlight too. That became the project — 30 interviews with 30 unsung Toronto Raptors legends from the team’s history.
Fast forward, and Smith and Bricker are now preparing for the launch of their book, “We The Raptors,” on November 4, 2025. That project came to life, and the book is a compilation of 30 conversations with various Raptors spanning from Year 1 to current rostered players. Intertwined through the eras are tidbits and insights from Smith’s own personal experience covering the team for three decades.
There were no parameters on who was “eligible” to be interviewed — guys who spent years with the team, guys who spent a lone season, guys who left and then came back. Smith and Bricker talked to players like Tracy Murray, Doug Christie, Chris Childs, Matt Bonner, Anthony Parker, Patrick Patterson and more. Simple, relaxed interviews about each player’s experiences and stories with the team, how they ended up on the team, and how their chapter with the Raptors ended. Bricker and Smith expected some behind-the-scenes look at this team at various points in history. What they didn’t expect was for these players to be so open and vulnerable with them.
“I think I had a working relationship with almost every single guy in this book, so there was some kind of trust there,” Smith said, but he was shocked at the emotional details every player was sharing with them, things that went beyond what was going on in the game.
Bricker, although he didn’t know any of the players to the level Smith did going into it, felt the same. “One thing that really struck me was how often the players were really thoughtful and emotionally open and reflective about the time they spent in Toronto,” Bricker added. “They would tell us directly about things that they regretted, things that they wish they’d done differently [during their time in Toronto].”
They decided to avoid basketball analysis — no X’s and O’s — and focus on the personal side of these stories. The result? A peek behind the curtain at what these players were going through personally, what they were feeling, and what they were overcoming during their time as Raptors. Stories about overcoming addiction, about battling mental health struggles, about dealing with grief, heartache, pressure, vitriol from fans or the media, losing, winning, being traded, feeling out of control in life, and so much more.
The other through line that wasn’t planned or expected by Bricker and Smith was how highly each player talked about Toronto as a city, and the Raptors as a franchise. No matter if they were on a winning or losing iteration of the team, there is a common theme of appreciation for the city, the country, and the people here. Some of them gained that appreciation later on, some knew it was there when they played for the team, but it’s there.
Fans will soon be able to read these stories for themselves, as We The Raptors hits shelves on November 4th. When it comes to what they want Raptors fans to get out of this book, Bricker and Smith hope that these stories help humanize some of these players who are often talked about as side pieces or forgotten about entirely. Successful teams can’t thrive with just their star players, and this book celebrates the other guys who work extremely hard to contribute to teams, who have contributed to the Toronto Raptors.
“There’s ample proof here that the history of the Raptors isn’t just about Raptors fans loving all the players that played for the Raptors,” says Bricker, “It’s about the Raptors themselves loving playing for the city. I think that comes through.”
This book is for anyone who has been a fan since day one, who hopped on during the Kyle/DeMar days, who celebrated the championship, or for new fans who want to learn about the history of the team. It’s not confined to anyone who was around during each of these players’ tenures, as Bricker and Smith did a great job of contextualizing the era each of these players entered the team in. Yet, if you were around on day one of the Toronto Raptors, there is a ton to learn and appreciate from these untold stories. It’s a celebration of a franchise that captures the hearts of an entire country, of the players who have made this franchise unforgettable, and the fans who make playing here so great.
We The Raptors drops on November 4, 2025. To pre-order your copy, click here.
