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TORONTO — Chris Boucher’s effort isn’t unpredictable, but his production and decision-making are. Boucher has improbably lasted in Toronto since 2018, when the Raptors signed him to a two-way contract, the last remaining player from the championship era. He’s worked his way in and out of the rotation of two coaches probably a half-dozen times in that span.
Boucher will run the floor like his job depends on it because it does. And yet, because Boucher disrupts the offence with a quick shot or gets outmuscled on the defensive glass, coaches have trouble depending on him.
When things are going well for Boucher, though, it is pretty darn fun — laugh-out-loud fun. For example, Boucher hitting a 3 over an excellent contest by fellow Canadian Andrew Wiggins, doing a backward somersault as he absorbed some post-shot contact, is pure joy. Every Boucher moment of his 17-point fourth-quarter flourish in the Raptors’ 104-101 win over the Golden State Warriors was some version of that.
“Yeah,” Boucher said of his shot over Wiggins. “I shot that one to the moon.”
“He won us this game,” Scottie Barnes said of Boucher.
Given it was win No. 9 for the Raptors, that counts for plenty. Most fans understand the Raptors will lose most of the time, but in order to make the locker room tolerable, the odd win is important.
— Toronto Raptors (@Raptors) January 14, 2025
Boucher has been on a heater lately, and Raptors fans have to feel good for him. He is in the final season of his three-year deal, and this one will almost certainly be his last one in Toronto. He turned 32 on Saturday, and the Raptors are in a rebuild. Organizationally, it doesn’t make sense to invest more time into him. Whether he gets traded at the deadline or finishes the year with the Raptors, that will likely be it.
His recent play might be increasing the odds of a trade — he’s hit 26 of his last 48 3s over 11 games. The Warriors game was his crowning moment, as he threw in a big dunk in traffic, a delicate layup off a baseline drive and a few big rebounds to help the Raptors secure the win.
BOUCHER with authority 😤‼️ pic.twitter.com/th6t409imF
— Toronto Raptors (@Raptors) January 14, 2025
“I think being patient (has been important),” Boucher said. “I think that’s one thing that I needed a little bit more, being patient with the ball, knowing that it’s not just the shot — that (if you are) moving the ball, it is going to come back to you.”
Boucher has made similar observations about himself before. He has put his shot selection on blast in front of microphones, always good for an endearing bit of self-recognition. When Raptors coach Darko Rajaković came in last year, replacing Nick Nurse, preaching an offence predicated on ball movement, it was always going to be tough for Boucher to get regular minutes.
Even if the coach admired things about Boucher, he could not be trusted to help the team build foundational habits. And yet, Boucher always finds his way back in the rotation, via injury or effort or simply a crazy run of shot-making.
“He’s such a professional. He comes to work every day,” Rajaković said. “Brings a lot of energy to our practices. … I’m really happy for him when he plays the way he played tonight.”
Boucher is, remarkably, the longest-serving Raptor. He started his career with the Warriors but was waived after his first year with Golden State. Steve Kerr said before the game that his combination of shooting and shot-blocking was intriguing, but the timing wasn’t right for him to develop with Golden State. The Raptors had more developmental time for Boucher, even if they were competing at the top end of the NBA, just as the Warriors did.
“It’s kind of amazing,” Kerr said of Boucher still playing with the Raptors seven seasons later.
Yes, it is kind of amazing. It takes talent and hard work to be rewarded with two multi-year contracts by the same team, but it also takes some luck to stick around for that entire time, to not be thrown into a bigger trade that has nothing to do with you.
It is a bit of a fluke, but it gives Raptors fans a little bit of organizational continuity as they cobble together a way forward. Boucher spoke of watching the Warriors’ famed core during his year with them, and then the likes of Kawhi Leonard, Danny Green, Pascal Siakam and Fred VanVleet in Toronto. Along the way, he has picked up lessons to keep himself relevant and viable despite his odd combination of skills.
“I was always trying to shoot a 3 and get some things going,” Boucher said of playing in low-leverage minutes for the Raptors at the start of his career. “And I always kept that (mindset) through my whole career. Just kind of (thinking) like, ‘OK, it might be two minutes, three minutes, just make a big impact.’ I think now with the work that I’ve put in and all that, it’s a little easier. But I was doing it a long time ago, without no work, all energy.”
As he came bounding into the Raptors locker room ready to receive a huge ovation from his teammates for his role in the win, the fruits of that energy were apparent. Chris Boucher deserves this.
(Photo of Chris Boucher driving to the net against the Warriors: John E. Sokolowski / Imagn Images)
