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Raptors honour the life and legacy of Nelson Mandela

Dustin Pollack

TORONTO – On a night when the new-look Cleveland Cavaliers were in town to take on the Eastern Conference leading Toronto Raptors, both teams put basketball aside for a moment to celebrate the life of a man who made a major impact on so many people around the world, Masai Ujiri being one of them.

The Raptors president and general manager only met Nelson Mandela twice in his life and he’s told stories of the brief, albeit impactful, encounters – the time eight years ago when, on a trip to Johannesburg as a part of his Basketball Without Borders program, the late South African leader looked his way and complimented Ujiri on his smile.

Friday marked the one-year anniversary of Mandela’s death and prior to tip off, a short video tribute was played in honour of the former president of South Africa. This just a few hours after a panel discussion on Mandela’s legacy took place inside a transformed Raptors practice facility with a handful of celebrity visitors, including Magic Johnson, Charles Barkley, Dikembe Mutumbo and Tracy McGrady, taking part.

“He was my hero, inspiration; he is a global icon and to celebrate his life is important,” Ujiri, who was born in Nigeria, told Doug Smith of the Toronto Star. “He showed that sports could bring people together and that it could change the world, it was important and we should recognize that.”

There’s no denying that Ujiri has taken the platform he has as an NBA executive and used it to do more than just build a contender on the court in Toronto.

He’s worked closely with Basketball Without Borders, a development and community outreach program, to help build the sport in Africa and in 2003 he founded Giants of Africa, to make a difference for kids across the continent using basketball as a tool.

Friday, was just another example of Ujiri doing something that extends far beyond his job description as the general manager of a professional sports franchise, this time paying tribute to a man he admired – the 'Giant of Africa,' as he called him.