The Toronto Raptors are the only non-American team in the NBA, being completely based out of Canada. The former champions have had some incredible players, with one of their underrated gems being Rudy Gay.
Gay played in 2013 for the Raptors. He recently appeared on the ‘Knuckleheads Podcast’ and spoke negatively about his experience with the Raptors.
“Toronto, it’s tough man.”
Gay explained how many of their issues would boil down to living in another country. While the Raptors are an NBA team, they’re entirely based in Canada, which requires their players to go through many administrative hassles, including going through customs every time they travel for road games.
However, Rudy also shared his main problem with the fanbase.
“That weak ass accent they got! they hate me, I don’t know why they hate me. You ever got traded from somewhere and the fans boo you? They traded me, I ain’t ask for no trade.”
Rudy Gays turn to complain about playing in Toronto:
"That weak ass accent they got! they hate me, I don't know why they hate me. You ever got traded from somewhere and the fans boo you? They traded me, I ain't ask for no trade"
(via knuckleheads podcast) https://t.co/GlU1OZzqgW pic.twitter.com/vEcuoTZ4C3
— Hassan O (@YourBoyH2O) March 25, 2025
Rudy Gay had two successful seasons with the Raptors when he was on the court, averaging 19.5 points and 6.8 rebounds.
However, he played just 51 games over these two years as he was a mid-season acquisition in 2012-13 from the Memphis Grizzlies and would get traded away from the Raptors in the middle of the 2013-14 season to the Sacramento Kings.
Gay was expected to be a star for the franchise during his brief stint. Even though they missed the Playoffs after acquiring him midseason, he led the team in scoring ahead of DeMar DeRozan. He put up similar numbers on worse efficiency before abruptly being traded to the Kings.
Thaddeus Young Explained How Playing In Toronto Was Hard For His Family
Gay’s comments come in the wake of former Raptors forward Thaddeus Young very openly discussing why playing in Toronto was a poor experience for him and how it impacted his family.
“I ain’t gonna lie, being in Toronto was kinda tough. It’s cool to visit, be there for like four or five days, but to live there, it was tough. It was tough on my family.”
“It’s almost like you’re at a disadvantage. We had to go through the airport every single time. You gotta go through the airport, it’s the customs part of it. It’s like, you mean to tell me I just paid for the package, and now I’ve got to pay more money to get my package from you? Like, c’mon, man. Customs? Then, getting stuck at the border. I got stuck at the border for like three or four hours.”
“I was there for two years. That was tough, I ain’t gonna lie. And I re-signed back there. That was tough… My kids was hurting. My wife was like, look, she said, ‘If you come back here, you might stay here yourself. We might stay at the crib.’”
It’s clear that Toronto might be one of the most vital cities in North America, but it leaves some challenges in the path of the American players who get drafted or traded to the franchise.
It’s a small price to pay for the millions that an NBA contract brings, but it seems most players would choose to maintain the consistency of playing for one of the 29 US-based NBA teams if it was up to them.
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