Canadians fans found out what it was like to be betting on basketball at SBG Global sportsbook and actually winning thanks to the Toronto Raptors having by far the most successful season in the history of the franchise in 2015–16. Not only did the Raptors surpass the 50-win mark for the first time in their 21 seasons in the NBA – they finished 56-26 – but they defied the odds by eliminating the Miami Heat in the Western Conference playoff semifinals and even gave the Cleveland Cavaliers a run for their money in the WC Finals. Ain’t no shame in losing to the eventual champions; the Raptors can be rightfully proud.
And that describes what Toronto fans have gone through as well. Instead of feeling ashamed to be caught betting on basketball on the Raptors, they can take pride in that now. Or at least as long as the team keeps up the good work in 2016-17. And since they managed to retain the core of that historic team, there is no reason they shouldn’t be able to keep breaking the glass ceiling and reaching for the brass ring. Toronto’s scoring leader DeMar DeRozan resigned with the team for a reported $139 million, five-year deal, and Kyle Lowry, Jonas Valanciunas, and DeMarre Carroll are all safely under contract – as is the team’s token Canadian player Cory Joseph.
Inexplicably, success story Bismack Biyombo decided to leave Toronto and signed with the Orlando Magic. The Congolese player had a breakthrough season with the Raptors, so it would only have made sense if he had used that as a launching pad to a better team, but the Magic? Anyway, Toronto Raptors will not be short on big men, what with Valanciunas and rookies Jakob Poeltl and Pascal Siakam. The Lithuanian had 12.8 points, 1,3 blocks, 9.1 rebounds, and 26 minutes per game in 60 regular season games and 13.8 points, 1.2 blocks, 10.8 rebounds, and 26.8 minutes in 12 playoff games with the Raptors in 2015–16.
Additionally, Toronto selected Poeltl with the 9th overall pick in the first round of the 2016 NBA draft. The Austrian center is a good rebounder, shot-blocker, and passer, and converts at a high percentage in the paint. Poeltl averaged 13.3 points, 1.7 blocks, 1.3 assists, 8 rebounds, and 26.9 minutes per game in 70 games with the University of Utah Runnin’ Utes over two seasons. He won Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center of the Year and NABC Pete Newell Big Man of the Year Awards. Siakam, on the other hand, was selected with the 27th overall pick in the first round of the draft.
The Cameroonian power forward not only averaged 20.4 points and 11.6 rebounds in his sophomore season with New Mexico Aggies, but in fact led led all Division I players with 27 double-doubles, and was the only one who scored 20 points a game among the 11 players nationwide who averaged a double-double. Surely, the sky’s the limit for the Raptors and their fans who enjoy betting on basketball at SBG Global sportsbook.