‘You will win again’: Masai Ujiri bids farewell to Toronto in YouTube video
The Toronto Raptors “will win again,” Masai Ujiri says as the team’s former vice-chairman and president formally bid farewell to fans in a YouTube video Monday.
Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment (MLSE) and Ujiri, who was entering the final year of his contract, “parted ways” on June 27, the organization announced. The 55-year-old’s departure marked the end of a more than decade-long run that delivered the franchise its first NBA championship.
Ujiri posted his farewell on his Giants of Africa YouTube channel, where he thanked the organization, the fans and players, both past and present.
“Toronto, Canada, I love you. (The) country that welcomed me, the city that became home. This bond we share will last forever,” he said.
“As I look back at more than a decade of heartfelt moments, I’m overwhelmed with gratitude.”
Over the years, he said his family built a base in Toronto and the city is the “only home” his kids have known.
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An assistant general manager in Toronto in 2008 before taking over as GM of the Denver Nuggets, he was rehired by the Raptors to run basketball operations in May 2013. Ujiri, a Nigerian national, is also co-founder of Giants of Africa, an organization which uses sport as a tool to help youth on the continent.
Ujiri took the Raptors to their lone NBA title in 2019 after a series of bold moves, including trading star DeMar DeRozan for Kawhi Leonard and firing coach Dwane Casey in favour of then-assistant coach Nick Nurse.
Under Ujiri, the Raptors made the playoffs seven straight seasons from 2013-14 to 2019-20. However, the team has struggled after their championship glory, failing to recapture that magic and entering a rebuild that saw the team miss the playoffs with a 30-52 record this year.
Reports had surfaced late last year that there was friction between Ujiri and Edward Rogers, the executive chair of Rogers Communications, which is now the controlling shareholder of MLSE. Ujiri tried to lay rest to those rumours in September, while the Toronto Star reported in 2021 that Rogers had unsuccessfully fought plans to re-sign Ujiri as vice-chairman and president of basketball operations, saying he was not worth the amount offered.
Keith Pelley, the president and chief executive officer of MLSE, said at the time of the June 27 announcement that the decision to move on from Ujiri was made about a month ago.
Ujiri suggested he might still be involved with basketball in Toronto, mentioning the Tempo and their WNBA debut season next year in his YouTube post.
“I’ll be right here when our Toronto Tempo makes history in the WNBA, continuing my commitment to basketball across the globe, wherever it takes me,” he said, adding the Raptors will see success once again.
“This team has reached the summit once before. With strong leadership in place, the Raptors will continue to climb that mountain back to an NBA title. You will win again in Toronto.”
— with files from The Canadian Press
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