Front Burner - Encore: ex-Raptors President Masai Ujiri

Episode Date: June 30, 2025

After a transformative 13 years, it was announced that the Toronto Raptors and longtime President Masai Ujiri would be parting ways. Across his time with the Raptors Ujiri became a figure central to Canadian and international sport — capping his time with the Raptors’ lone NBA championship in 2019. The years since then have been slower and gave way to a team in purgatory, as well as executive level disagreements about Ujiri’s place in the Raptors hierarchy. We sat down with Masai Ujiri in 2021 for a conversation about his career to that point. About revolutionizing basketball in Toronto, life after a history-making NBA title, his African roots, and his bid to internationalize the game of basketball.

If you want to hear daily news that doesn't hurt your soul and might even be good for your soul, check out As It Happens. I'm Chris Howden. And I'm Nielke Oksal. Every day we reach people at the center of the most extraordinary stories, like the doctor who restored a patient's eyesight with a tooth. Or a musician in an orchestra that plays instruments made out of vegetables. Take the scenic route through the day's news with As It Happens, and you can find us wherever you get your podcasts. This is a CBC Podcast. Hi, I'm Elaine Chao, in for Jamie Boisson. For more than a decade, Masai Ujiri guided the Toronto Raptors franchise, playing a huge

part in its first NBA Championship win in 2019. On Friday, the Raptors announced that after 13 seasons, Ujiri's time as president and vice chairman of the team was over. Keith Pelly, the president and CEO of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, or MLSC, which owns the Raptors, said that it was a tough decision, but one that he felt was right for the team's future. His legacy will be indelibly etched in our city

in perpetuity based on him playing such a significant role in bringing the 2019 NBA Championship to our city, and also how he transformed our brand and worked through the Raptors to create a connection with so many fans in Toronto. There's been rumors in recent years of friction between Eugery and Edward Rogers, who's about to finalize his majority share purchase of MLSC. Back in 2021, according to the Toronto Star,

Rogers was opposed to Eugery getting a $15 million a year contract. Edward Rogers actively fought plans to keep Masai Eugery as head of the Toronto Raptors this summer, saying he was not worth the amount offered and then tried to extract an extraordinary benefit for his own company. Masai Ujiri is one of the most recognizable and successful Canadian sports executives in recent history. history. He's known for getting the best out of every deal, charm his way through every room, and slowly build teams that could compete at the very highest level. Ujiri was raised in northern Nigeria, had a modest playing career in Europe, and later worked as an unpaid scout with the Orlando Magic. In less than a decade,

he became the general manager of the Denver Nuggets. Three years after that, he joined the Toronto Raptors as president and GM. Ujiri went on to build some of the most memorable teams in Canadian sports history, with that championship in 2019 as a real capstone moment. It's unbelievable for the players and the coaches and ownership. Alvin knows, you know, like these guys paved the way for us and we kept growing, kept building and here we find ourselves. But since then, Masai Ujiri's time in Toronto has been subject to some real difficulty. Shortly after that championship, the team he assembled

began to go their separate ways. Kawhi Leonard left, Kyle Lowry left, Pascal Siakam was traded, and so was OGN Inobi. The list goes on. And in came a rotating cast of players that many in the fan base felt disconnected to. Jamie spoke to Masai Ujiri in 2021 about his career to that point, life after a history-making NBA title, his African roots and relationship to Canada, and his bid to internationalize the game of basketball.

Here is that conversation. Hi, Messiah. It is such a pleasure to have you here. Thank you so much for joining me. Thank you for having me. And I'll say for our listeners, we are actually sitting in the middle of the OVO practice court, which is pretty cool. Very cool. A few weeks ago, you signed on to be both vice chairman and president of the Raptors and you said that you're here to stay. And I know a lot of people thought maybe you'd leave, maybe you'd head to a bigger market

like New York. And what is keeping you here in Toronto? Big question. You started off with a big one, huh? Toronto is has become home, you know for me for my family there's something about this space of Toronto of Canada that really is Special it gives me a good platform to speak to represent

And it's a unique space. Why do you think that is? What makes it so unique? There's a lot to do with, I think, the diversity of the country, the city, Toronto, I think different people from all works of life, all parts of the world, different parts of the world. And there's a freeness. There's a certain way, you know, that a lot of people around the world don't even know. Yeah, but and sometimes we inside don't even know. You know, as someone who grew up in Toronto, whenever I hear you talk about

the city, it makes me feel really guilty that I'm always complaining about the traffic. But I seriously, I saw you the other day, you were introducing this art installation that you helped put together at Union Station. And you got a bit emotional when you started to talk about all the diverse faces that you see when you look up in the stands during a Raptors game. I come to the games every day. I see people from everywhere. In your new role as Vice Chairman, what changes for you, if anything? I think first on the emotion you know it's it's to me it's

very important that people understand that we do have issues you know like here and everywhere in the world and and that's what resonates with me in some kind of way that we have people from all over the world and we all need to treat each other better. Yeah when I look at black people, I look at the indigenous people, I look at what's going on with Asians, we just need to be better. And do you think in your role now as president and vice-chairman you have more of an ability to speak to those issues to address those issues? I hope I do. It's not only you can't just speak alone you

have to act right you know it's there's the platform and the voice I also have to represent and you represent by actions. You are good good friends with Barack Obama. Paul Kagame is, I believe, one of your mentors as well. When you think about leadership, what are the most important qualities to you? What I've learned from these people are, you know, they are incredible visionaries. Then I think as a leader, you have to have the ability to hire people that are smart and in fact smarter than you as a leader. I think

these guys do it. What do you think your greatest strength is as a leader? I have no idea why they let me do this. You know, why one of the things I was humbled by was when I'm with these guys and they ask me questions, yeah, it baffles me because they know everything. Yeah, so why would they ask me a question? And I've had moments with President Kagame or 44 or Justin Trudeau. And they are inquisitive in their minds, too, and very filled with information, so much information.

It's really like it's really like it's mind-boggling i wonder if we can spend a bit of time talking about kyle lowry continues kyle lowry young guy from north philadelphia who had all kinds of questions about him not tall enough not fast enough not not athletic. How does he become an NBA champion? Hard work. Never let nobody tell you you can't do something special. And just a great group

of guys. Yeah, I can't really think right now. This is crazy. This is awesome, man. Toronto, Canada, we brought it home, baby. We brought it home. You wonder if that is the final walk of the greatest Raptor of all time in Kyle Lowry. Yes. So this team arguably said goodbye recently to its heart and soul. And he's someone who's always loved the challenge, I think probably of being underestimated and he walked away the greatest Raptor of all time. And I know you have also said that and I wonder if you could reflect on what's different about the Kyle Lowry who came nine years ago and the Kyle Lowry who left. He's nine years older. He's somebody that's really courageous, somebody that wants to be bigger, better.

That's what Kyle was. We had our ups and downs and he had his moments. I've always said it, he's always been respectful. He's always been respectful. He's always been that, you know, like, but he wears his emotions on his sleeves too, you know, and he, um, he's, he might be one of the most competitive persons I've ever been around. I've been in a gym where they are playing pickup in the middle of September, season hasn't started, nothing is going on and he's ruthless. You know, like this is how his mind works.

And I think those competitive people in the world, you know, have an edge about them. The most incredible thing is how his game has evolved with time. He's very thoughtful. He's a visionary of the game, you know, like he knew where the three-point game was going and how he established it. As a human being, family guy, you know, like Kylo is Kylo, you know, like the best. I wonder how you think his story and his trajectory might fit into sort of the larger story of the Raptors evolution,

maybe especially as a team works to rebuild that. You know, I want to hope that there's going to be bigger and better than Kyle Lowry because he has opened up that door. Yeah, he's, yeah, all these records and what he's done, you know, these things, he broke other people's records, you know, like, the other people that were spoken of as the best Raptors of all times, you know, like you can argue Vince Carter and how he made young players wanted to be set up. Corey Joseph's and the Wiggins and all these guys, the Barrett. R.J. Barrett, the latest and some say the biggest name in basketball to come out of Canada.

He's already got the hardware, including a recent Harry Jerome award, an athlete usually reserved for people so much further into their careers. They watched Vince Carter, right? At one point, you could argue Demar, you know, like what Demar did incredible. And it was unfortunate how everything went, you know, like, but I still see him that way, you know, like he's a Raptor that stands out in an incredible way. Yeah, and then you look at people that were here too that didn't stay that long you know like Kawhi Leonard might arguably too be you know like a one-year greatest Raptor of all time. You know what I mean? And then the talents of the Tracy McGrady's or Chris Bosh's you know like so but Kyle just came on you know and

that took off and what gives the most credit to that? It's championship. Do you think, he was also talking about leadership. He was a leader on the team. And is there a deficit on the team now? And do you have to kind of rebuild that? No, we're going to rebuild as a team. We're a young team, but there's no deficit in leadership.

You know, Fred is an unbelievable leader. Yeah, this is where everybody is going to see now, you know, like the kind of leader he is. And one other team of now, there's going to be growing pains. Trust me, you know, like it's not sometimes it's gonna be tough to watch, you know, like, but's coming we know you know we're excited about the young talent they are excited to play I think to see how OG Pascal Fred are going to evolve as leaders as lead players and then the young guys you know like, like the Barnes, the Malakais, the Delanos. In sports, people think now, right? You know, and this is where we have to be patient, you know, like, and let it grow. Right, right. Maybe it's not just sports that people are so obsessed with now. But you're saying this is a long, a long game. You're not only known for the work that you do with the Raptors,

but you also have a reputation for helping African players find their path within the NBA. Players like Pascal, like Serge, arguably the biggest star from the last NBA season, Yannis. Omani Williams says Mikael Bridges running the floor. Shot blocked by Antonekoum Paho. Once again comes out of nowhere and throws it off the backboard.

Yannis down the other end, he takes it home. Yannis on the break, to the rim, pushed him down. No doubt given he was the two-time MVP in the league, this year's Bill Russell finals MVP Yannis Atetokounmpo. Super! Yanis is originally from Nigeria as are you and can you talk to me a little bit about your connection with him? You know, I don't talk too publicly about that one. Yanis and his family are so dear to me. We just have a unique relationship and friendship that honestly now goes beyond basketball, you know, so I leave it at that.

But you talk about what it meant to you when you saw him crowned last season's MVP. Yeah, incredible. I remember watching it and feeling incredibly proud of what the young man accomplished. And that fight, to see that spirit, you've seen it from a young age. It was incredible. Long before the internet, AI or social media, Douglas Adams imagined our future, and he didn't always like what he saw.

Douglas Adams, The Ends of the Earth, is a journey into the mind of the man who foresaw the digital age in all its wonder and terror. Here are the speeches that inspired a generation of futurists, and interviews with those who have followed in his footsteps, from Stephen Fry and David Bedile to innovators in technology, conservation, and even politics. Get Douglas Adams the ends of the earth now at pushkin.fm slash audiobooks or wherever audiobooks are sold. We're seeing more African players than ever before in the NBA. And I wonder where you expect things

to be 10, 20 years from now. The camps are growing. The players, social media, things are even more exposed. How do we build infrastructure? How do we continue to grow the game? Coaching. All those things become more difficult as the game gets wider and

wider but I'm encouraged by the ball league it's incredible that the NBA was able to do this. I'll just note for our listeners this is the basketball Africa League it's sort of a premier men's league that is fairly new. Yes started first championship was in April this year. Talking about building infrastructure and the camps you do so much of that work through Giants of Africa and I think you now operate in 17 countries on the continent and I wonder how does that work connect with your upbringing in in Nigeria and and and falling in love with basketball?

Well, when we do camps, the kids sit on the floor and we speak to them and I sat on the floor, just like that, basketball camp for my beloved coach in Nigeria, Oliver Johnson, who was an American that moved to Nigeria with a P score and started coaching basketball and when I look at those kids I see myself and when I see myself I see those kids you know in every single way yeah if I can make it and I can get to this place when I say make it I mean make it up to the MBA. These kids can make it even further,

you know, like they are more talented, they're smarter, but these youth, they need a path. Yeah, and the education of sports for me becomes really incredibly important for them to grow. You know, I know you certainly touched on this already, but I wonder if you could just elaborate for me a little bit more. You go back every year in your time off, and I guess you don't have to go back every year in your time off. Don't tell my wife. You could just take the time off.

You're killing me right now. So, why? This is what we were born to do. You know this is it's an obligation for me if I'm put in this chair to be the president of the Toronto Raptors and I don't win and I don't win for others. I don't know where success is. The success comes from really building and growing those youth on the continent of Africa and everywhere around the world. And I feel that it's an obligation. I was watching this HBO documentary about you recently and there's this moment you bring the trophy, the Larry O'Brien trophy back to Nigeria and you're sitting with your parents and you

say, Thank you for raising me the right way. I came from something. I came from something big. I wonder, can you take me back to that moment? What did you mean when you said that? Well, look at where my parents set me up to be. They raised me the right way. My dad would always say to me, be honest to people.

Yeah, respect people. Respect women. And those things always resonated with me in an incredible way. And it's funny, you come down to the basic fundamentals of life, of looking somebody in the eye and telling them hello or showing some kind of kindness. everybody can be as smart as they want to be, or anybody can go on the internet as much as they want. But who are you as a person? Who are you as a human being?

And I said I come from something big because they made me, I at least think about life that way. I wonder if we could spend a little bit of time also talking about the past year in the NBA. So other than being an advocate for African basketball, you've also been outspoken on issues of racial justice. And we really saw that come to a head in the NBA bubble after the death of George Floyd.

All you do is keep hearing about fear. It's... It's amazing why we keep loving this country and this country does not love us back. Over the last few days in our home state of Wisconsin we've seen the horrendous video of Jacob Blake being shot in the back seven times by a police officer in Kenosha and the additional shooting of protesters. Despite the overwhelming plea for change there has been no action so our focus today cannot be on basketball.

We are scared as black people in America. Black men, black women, black kids. We are we are terrified. Players wore messages on their jersey, they withheld their work, they shut down games. And it was this incredible demonstration of showing the world their influence and power. It sort of transcended sport, right? And I wonder what you took away from that time? Whatever we took away is still happening now. You know, like, I think what George Floyd did was, I think, set up the whole world for another movement. You know, like, that just continues. The one thing I loved about the past year and a half was

Yeah, in some ways black people became bolder When George Floyd's neck cop had his knee and his neck Okay, crying for his mom. It's bleeding his peeing on himself Yeah, and can go nowhere, he's handcuffed. Who are you as a human being? You don't need to be a cop.

Who were those people standing there that were actually seeing this happen? I look at that and I think there's ways and ways to go where we all have to like respect each other and know that this doesn't matter anymore I said the color of our skin is old, is old-fashioned it doesn't matter where you are born, you could be born somewhere completely like different yeah I look at my daughter, she could have been born in Samburu. Yeah, she could have been born in Libya. Yeah, she could have been born in many different places. Does that make her a

different, beautiful, unbelievable girl? It doesn't. Do you see the Raptors and the NBA, I guess by extension, playing an important role moving forward here, like making sure that these issues stay in the spotlight, that people are talking about them. Yes, I do. I do. I think the players are doing an incredible job, individually and collectively, where they can. We have to think about them too as youth, you know, like they need guidance, you know, they need exposure too. We need to give them even a bigger platform, you know, like to speak about these things, to act on these things, to give them resources, you know, like because they are the ones that kids look up to.

I wonder if we could talk about something that I don't want to spend too much time rehashing because I know it is very much in the past but our listeners will of course know about the altercation that you had after the NBA championship win with the officer in Oakland. I just wonder now that you have gone through the legal system, if there's anything that you have taken away from that experience that you might like to share with us. Yes, plenty. It showed me that experience and that incidence just showed me that I am a public figure and I had an opportunity to tackle this issue because of my position. Yeah, and it makes

me think that people that are not in my position or people that don't have the opportunity that I have, it made me really think how do they come out of this? How do they survive? It happens everywhere and no cameras, there's no bail money, there's no lawyers. I had all of those and so in some ways I was blessed that it came out that way where I can actually now figure out ways and I'm working hard on it to help other people. We know that of course you want the Raptors to win another championship. We all want that of course you want the Raptors to win another championship. We all want that of course, but I guess one question that I hear a lot of people talk about when they talk

about you is what might come next? I guess, you know, we talked about some people that you're very close with, Barack Obama. You know, you were just on the campaign trail with Justin Trudeau. Do you see yourself maybe pursuing a future in politics? People talk about that a lot when they talk about you. They do? They do. I hear it all the time. Yeah, I am interested, you know, in what goes on in the world. The way I look at it is I have a good voice where I am

today and I'm appreciative of that and I don't take it for granted. So we'll see what the future brings. So maybe. So I'm telling you I'm already a politician from that answer. You're perfect. Final question. I'm hoping that we can end this conversation which has been wonderful. Thank you so much. With the high point of your professional career, the NBA Championship night in Oakland and I wonder if there's a quiet moment that you might be willing to share with us about that night that will sort of stay with you forever? There are a couple moments of it and because of what happened in Oakland the moment on the court was taken away from me but I will never ever forget my wife ordering I can't remember if it was in and out or Chick-fil-A and we had

to fly back to Toronto because my daughter was graduating from when you have five what are you graduating from? Maybe kindergarten? Yes, kindergarten. So but when we got on the plane, and we had the burgers, and the pilots had champagne for us, I know it was the moment just two of us, you know, like there and all the texts that you got from friends, people, well-wishers, everybody, prayers from Africa. And then you take off and I don't know, I can't remember if we had Wi-Fi on the plane or we slept off. And then you wake up in the morning in Toronto and there's another millions of texts that

came in. That moment, those moments were incredible, you know,. To just sit back and you are not even being bothered by anybody but this. To see my kids when you walk into the door and we came in from San Francisco, we've come from the airport, it was the most incredible feeling because they had watched it, they had followed it, you know, and you can actually feel it even though they were that they were young. Yeah, yeah, that's really wonderful. Masayi Jerry, thank you so much for this. Thank you. Thank you for having me. Thank you. That was Jamie's conversation with longtime Raptors president Masai Ujiri from 2021. The team cut ties with Ujiri late last week.

That's all for today. I'm Elaine Chao. Thanks for listening to Front Burner.