Pascal Siakam Shared A 'Goodbye' Message To Toronto Raptors Fans & Calls The City 'Home'
"Toronto is just all I’ve known — and all I’ve wanted to know."
Pascal Siakam during a Toronto Raptors game. Right: Pascal Siakam.
Pascal Siakam shared a heartfelt message with Toronto Raptors fans a couple of days after the news of his trade to the Indiana Pacers went public.
In it, the two-time all-star forward also expressed how much playing in Toronto has meant to him and how he'd never envisioned himself leaving the team.
In the letter published in The Players' Tribune on January 19, Siakam admitted that although there were frequent trade rumours when it came to his career, he blocked them out and continued to focus on the game.
"Toronto is just all I’ve known — and all I’ve wanted to know. I never asked for a trade. Maybe this sounds naive, but I felt I could be one of those dudes who spends his whole career on one team," Siakam wrote in the letter.
He also expressed that he helped the Raptors win their first NBA title in 2019 and wanted to help the team win their second.
Siakam then went into how much Toronto means to him and how he considers the city his "home."
"None of that changes what Toronto has meant to me, though, and what it will keep meaning. That’s the main thing I wanted to say to everyone: This is home," he wrote.
"Toronto made me feel like I belonged from day one."
The basketball player also made sure to express his thanks to Raptors fans.
"As far as the fans go, I want to say a few things. One: it’s so much love. Not just the love I feel for them, but that I’ve shared with them," Siakam wrote in The Players' Tribune post.
"The way that people in Canada have fallen in love with the Raptors while I’ve been here, it’s like it happened in just the right way, at the right time. When we were really ready for it — and needed it."
Siakam was the Raptors' first-round draft pick in the 2016 NBA Draft and has spent his entire seven-year career in Toronto until the trade.
According to ESPN, Siakam was traded for Bruce Brown and Jordan Nwora. The Toronto Raptors will also get three first-round picks.
Sportsnet reports the 29-year-old Raptors star had one year and $37.9 million left on his contract.
On Thursday, the Toronto Raptors shared a message to Siakam on Instagram and included several photos of the NBA star over the years.
"P, thank you for everything you have done for The North."
Although Siakam is leaving the Toronto team, it's clear his love for the city isn't going anywhere and he made that very clear at the end of his goodbye message.
"I'm Toronto forever."
This article's cover image was used for illustrative purposes only.