A lot of people from around the NBA believe that the Toronto Raptors' Pascal Siakam has the Most Improved Player of the Year award in the bag because of how impressive he's been for the team this season. Well, former Raptor Tracy McGrady himself isn't one of them.
In a recent episode of ESPN's The Jump, McGrady said he doesn't believe Siakam deserved to win the MIP honors, despite the fact that the energetic forward is arguably the second best player on the team.
Siakam seemed to have responded to T-Mac's comments by leading the Raptors to a 98-93 road victory over the Orlando Magic in Game 3 of their playoff series. He finished the game with 30 points, 11 rebounds, and four assists. After the game, Siakam was asked by Lori Ewing of the Canadian Press about his reaction to McGrady's comments, and he said he knew nothing about it.
“Y'all trying to start something man. I don't know nothin' about that, I don't know what happened, I don't watch what's going on, what people say … it's not about who said what.”
Siakam then said that he doesn't care about individual honors because he's just thankful that he's able to play the game that he loves, and be good at it.
“I'm just blessed to be here, happy that I'm in this position, and people from where I'm from can look at me and hopefully dream that they can be here one day … continue to work hard, and at the end of the day if I do that that's what's important to me.”
Siakam might not know what McGrady said about him, but what he knows is that he has a lot of doubters; people who don't believe in him despite how good he's been throughout the season.
But he isn't playing to prove them wrong. Instead, Siakam is giving his best not only for the benefit of the Raptors but also for those fans who continue to support him.
“That's the message I'm trying to send every night I'm on the floor, and if some kids or whoever come and tell me, ‘Hey I'm watching you and your development and how you got here, and your story is an inspiration,' and maybe one day they'll be like, ‘I'm here today because of you.' I think that will be more important.”
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