The Siakam File
- One NBA championship, 2019
- One NBA All-Star selection, 2020
- One All-NBA Second Team selection, 2020
- One All-NBA Third Team selection, 2022
- One NBA Most Improved Player award, 2019
The Summer of Siakam
Pascal "Spicy P" Siakam gained popularity when he played a critical role on the Toronto Raptors 2019 championship team. He gained popularity as an international star, surging from irrelevance to improbable playoff force. "Improbable" doesn't begin to describe his journey to the league.
Siakam first dreamed of playing soccer in Cameroon. He attended a local basketball camp, held by former NBA player Luc Mbah a Moute, just for kicks. His performance there earned him an invitation to an international basketball camp in South Africa.
His sister happened to live there, and he hadn't seen her in years. A free trip to see his sister was something Siakam couldn't turn down, even if his ticket resided on the basketball court. There, he saw Serge Ibaka and Luol Deng, neither of whom he had known before.
At that camp, he learned more about their journeys and learned it was possible for a (not so) little Cameroonian kid to make it big. Siakam would become the apple of an American high school coach's eye, and played there before New Mexico State came calling. His play there would make the former soccer star the 27th pick in the NBA draft.
From joking around in Africa to endearing American fans and calling Canada home, Siakam maintained an international pipeline that was key in his own arrival, overcoming obstacles and persevering in pursuit of Spicy P.