Pascal Siakam

Siakam recorded 34 points, 18 rebounds, 5 assists, and 1 block in 38 minutes played of the NBA's season-opening game to help the Raptors beat the New Orleans Pelicans 130-122. He also matched his career-highs in both offensive rebounds and made free throws, and set a new career-high in field goals attempted. On November 8, Siakam scored a career-high 44 points in a 122-104 win over the Pelicans. On November 13, Siakam scored 36 points in a 114-106 win over the Portland Trail Blazers. On December 1, Siakam scored 35 points in a 130-110 win over the Utah Jazz. On January 23, 2020, Siakam was selected to his first career All-Star nod, being named a starter in the 2020 NBA All-Star Game. On January 26, Siakam would again score 35 points in a 110-106 win over the San Antonio Spurs. On February 21, Siakam scored 37 points, along with 12 rebounds, in a 118-101 win over the Phoenix Suns.

In Game 3 of the Raptors' first-round playoff series against the Orlando Magic, Siakam tallied 30 points and 11 rebounds in the 98–93 victory. In Game 1 of the second round, Siakam posted 29 points in a 108–95 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers. In Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals, Siakam helped Toronto defeat Milwaukee in double-overtime, 118–112, putting up 25 points and bringing down 11 rebounds; the win cut the Bucks' series lead to 2–1. In Game 6, Siakam converted 18 points for his part in the 100–94 win over Milwaukee; the victory clinched the series and propelled the Raptors to the NBA Finals for the first time in franchise history. In Game 1 of the 2019 Finals, Siakam scored a playoff career-high 32 points in a 118–109 victory over the Golden State Warriors. He went on to help the Raptors defeat the Warriors in six games and thus capture their first NBA Championship in franchise history. At the 2019 Awards ceremony later that month, Siakam was named the NBA's Most Improved Player for the 2018–19 season. On October 19, 2019, Siakam agreed to a four-year, $130 million extension with Toronto.

Heading into the 2018-19 campaign, Siakam emerged as a two-way force, and he would average 16.9 points a night to go along with 6.9 rebounds and 3.1 assists; he would also make a marked improvement in shooting from distance, increasing his three-point percentage by 14 points to 36 percent. He surpassed his previous career-high on October 29, 2018, by posting 22 points during a 124–109 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks. On November 10, he set a new career-high with 23 points scored in a 128–112 victory over the New York Knicks. Siakam was named the Eastern Conference Player of the Week for games played November 5 to 11, thus becoming the eighth Raptor in franchise history to earn the award after DeMar DeRozan (10 times), Vince Carter (7 times), Chris Bosh (7 times), Kyle Lowry (4 times), Mike James, Jalen Rose, and Lou Williams. On January 13, Siakam recorded 24 points and a career-high 19 rebounds in a 140–138 double-overtime win versus the Washington Wizards. On February 13, he racked up a new career-high 44 points and hit a career-best 4 three-pointers in a 129–120 win over the Wizards; he thus became the 11th Raptor in franchise history to reach the 40-point plateau.

In his rookie season, Siakam started in as many as 38 games at power forward, including the first 35 of the 2016–17 campaign, because Jared Sullinger was out with injury; he was later replaced on the starting lineup by Lucas Nogueira on January 5, 2017. From February 21 through April 28, he was alternately assigned to the Raptors 905 of the D-League and recalled from it. Accordingly, between games played for the Raptors, he led Toronto's affiliate team to the Finals and helped them win a title by defeating the Rio Grande Valley Vipers 2–1. After averaging 23 points and 9 rebounds in that series, he was named the D-League Finals MVP.

In his second year in the NBA, Siakam cemented himself as a productive bench contributor for Toronto. He recorded a then career-high 20 points during a 117–112 loss to the Golden State Warriors on October 25, 2017. For the 2017–18 season, the Raptors' offensive rating was four points better with Siakam on the floor, compared to seven points worse his rookie year. His averages improved from 4.3 points per game to 7.3, from 3.4 rebounds per game to 4.5, and from 0.3 assists per game to 2.0. He would draw comparisons to Warriors' forward Draymond Green for such qualities as his rare ability to guard all positions, his shrewd basketball IQ, and internal confidence.

Siakam enrolled at New Mexico State University in 2013. After redshirting the 2013–14 season due to injury, he worked his way onto the Aggies' starting lineup and then to Western Athletic Conference (WAC) Freshman of the Year honors by the 2014–15 campaign. For the 2015–16 campaign, he averaged 20.2 points, 11.6 rebounds, and 2.2 blocks across 34 games en route to earning unanimous WAC Player of the Year honors. On April 19, 2016, Siakam declared for the NBA draft, forgoing his final two years of college eligibility.

On June 23, 2016, Siakam was selected by the Toronto Raptors with the 27th overall pick in the NBA draft, with the franchise signing him to a rookie scale contract on July 9. On October 2, he became the first rookie to start for the Raptors' season-opener since Jonas Valančiūnas did so in 2012; rising to the occasion, he hauled in 9 rebounds and notched 4 points in 21 minutes as Toronto beat the Detroit Pistons, 109–91. It marked not only his NBA debut, but the first NBA game that he had ever seen in person. On December 3, Siakam scored a season-high 14 points, which came in a 128–84 victory over the Atlanta Hawks. On January 1, 2017, during a 123–114 win over the Los Angeles Lakers, he pulled down a season-high 10 rebounds.

Siakam is the son of Tchamo Siakam, the former mayor of Makénéné, Cameroon, and Victorie Siakam. His father died in a car crash in October 2014. To this day, one of Siakam's greatest regrets is that he was unable to attend his father's funeral because it occurred while he was waiting for the issuance of a new US visa. His three older brothers, Boris, Christian, and James, all played NCAA Division I basketball in the United States—Boris at Western Kentucky, Christian at IUPUI, and James at Vanderbilt. Siakam goes by the nickname "Spicy P".

Siakam initially had little interest in basketball in stark contrast to his older brothers, all of whom earned scholarships with the sport to various NCAA Division I colleges. He was discovered as a player at a local camp by Luc Mbah a Moute, whose parents' home in Bafia was about 2 miles (3 km) from St. Andrew's. Siakam attended Mbah a Moute's camp for the first time in 2011, a year before graduating from St. Andrew's; and he returned to it the following year, after which he was selected to attend the Basketball Without Borders camp. There, despite having had virtually no basketball experience at the time, he gained attention for his apparent athleticism and extremely high energy level. As Raptors president Masai Ujiri, who had been at this camp, recalled, "His effort was memorable." With Mbah a Moute as a mentor, Siakam moved to the United States at the age of sixteen. He went from one camp to the next to hone his skills before settling in Lewisville, Texas, and attending God's Academy. While at this prep school, Siakam was neither widely known nor initially eligible. But he was at least pursued by New Mexico State University; the Aggies' coach had Siakam on his radar since his pipeline of connections spanned several continents and his roster reserved fourteen spots for foreign-born players.

Pascal Siakam (born April 2, 1994) is a Cameroonian professional basketball player for the Toronto Raptors of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Siakam played college basketball for the New Mexico State Aggies and was named the Western Athletic Conference Player of the Year in 2016. Nicknamed "Spicy P", he was selected by Toronto with the 27th overall pick in the first round of the 2016 NBA draft. After being assigned to the NBA Development League (now the G League) as a rookie in 2017, he led Toronto’s affiliate team to a league championship and picked up Finals Most Valuable Player honors in the process. Siakam would later help the Raptors claim an NBA championship in 2019 while winning the league's Most Improved Player Award in the same season, the first player to win both during the same season. He was named an NBA All-Star for the first time in the 2019-20 season.