Should The Toronto Raptors Have Given Jonas Valanciunas A Championship Ring?

According to Mike Ganter of the Toronto Sun, the Toronto Raptors have made the controversial decision not to give championship rings to three players on their 2018-2019 roster. It should be noted that the three players in question (Jonas Valanciunas, Delon Wright and CJ Miles) played for the Raptors until February 7, 2019 before they were traded to the Memphis Grizzlies for Marc Gasol.

Not giving rings to Wright and Miles makes sense. Wright only started seven games for the Raptors over four seasons with the club, while Miles only started four games with Toronto and was best known in Canada for his appearances in the GoDaddy web hosting commercials where he was promoting his fictitious company, CJ’s PJ’s.

Not giving am NBA ring though to Valanciunas might strike a nerve with hardcore Raptors fans. In Major League Baseball it is occasional for players to receive a championship ring if they made a contribution to the championship-winning team earlier in the regular season, even if they did not end up with the team that would eventually win. That protocol is not typical in the National Basketball Association.

Valanciunas, who was a first-round draft pick (fifth overall), was a dynamic force for the Raptors for seven seasons before being traded to Memphis. He regularly averaged approximately 12 points per game with the Raptors each season from 2013-14 to 2018-19, and was even in the stands when the Raptors played in the 2019 NBA postseason. Heck, Kyle Lowry even had contacted Valanciunas and asking him about his ring size.

But the bottom line is the players that were part of the Raptors that won the NBA Finals and were part of the team that beat the Golden State Warriors that famous June 13th night in Oakland were the ones that got NBA rings. The stance the Raptors have taken here is completely understandable.