Canada's A.J. Lawson has career night for Toronto Raptors

The Canadian Press

· Posted: Mar 11, 2025 9:45 AM EDT | Last Updated: 5 minutes ago

A.J. Lawson has been surviving the imagination this week. He had his archetypal vocation NBA commencement connected Friday, lining up for his hometown Toronto Raptors astatine Scotiabank Arena. Then connected Monday, Lawson had his champion crippled arsenic a nonrecreational hoops player.

Lawson, from Brampton, Ont., was 1 of 4 Raptors to gain a double-double arsenic Toronto routed the Washington Wizards 119-104. Lawson finished with 32 points and 12 rebounds, some vocation highs, disconnected the bench.

"Probably been dreaming astir this, who knows however long? Since I archetypal touched the basketball?" said Lawson. "I mean, I'm a Toronto kid, grew up successful Brampton. To person a show similar this, it conscionable means everything.

"It's for the city, for family, for the country. I mean, each glory to God. Couldn't bash it without Him."

Lawson's way to the NBA, and getting minutes with his puerility team, was not direct.

He went undrafted retired of South Carolina successful 2021, past signed with the College Park Skyhawks, the G-League affiliate of the Atlanta Hawks, the adjacent year. He played a play with the Guelph Nighthawks of the Canadian Elite Basketball League that summer, earlier joining the Dallas Mavericks' summertime league team.

Lawson besides spent clip with the Minnesota Timberwolves earlier signing a two-way woody with the Raptors connected Dec. 11.

A raft of injuries to Toronto's rotation has fixed Lawson accrued playing clip this week, but helium said he's felt valued by his Raptors and Raptors 905 teammates since joining the enactment — including being greeted with a cheer of "real atrocious mon!" erstwhile helium came into Toronto's locker-room post-game.

"Just immoderate Toronto slang," laughed Lawson. "We from the city, conscionable giving the Toronto civilization immoderate emotion and the Jamaican culture, for sure.

"Shout retired to my teammates for conscionable being bully teammates, though. Everybody progressive and everything."

One teammate successful peculiar worked to get him the ball: RJ Barrett.

The brace grew up together, playing connected the Brampton Warriors hoops club, their mediate schoolhouse team, and their precocious schoolhouse squad.

"They were each laughing astatine maine due to the fact that connected 1 of [Lawson's] threes [Jared] Rhoden was wide unfastened successful the corner, but A.J. was wide unfastened successful the different country and A.J. had 27," shrugged Barrett. "He made the changeable and helium got 30.

"I'm blessed for him. A.J. is simply a feline who plays truly hard, is truly active, some ends of the floor, truthful it's bully to spot a feline similar that person a bully crippled here."

Lawson said helium was grateful to beryllium draining threes connected passes from his puerility person successful the champion hoops league successful the world.

"Honestly, afloat ellipse to being connected the aforesaid tribunal arsenic him, arsenic a Raptor, some Canadians, what a blessing it is," said Lawson. "The likelihood of that happening is rare."

Lawson's erstwhile scoring precocious was connected Dec. 23, 2023, erstwhile helium had 17 points for Dallas successful a 144-119 triumph implicit the San Antonio Spurs. If helium had scored 4 much points connected Monday helium would person go the highest-scoring subordinate connected a two-way declaration successful NBA/G-League history.

"It felt similar the nett conscionable opened up," helium said aft his 9 for 21 shooting show that included 7 three-pointers. "I conscionable felt similar each changeable I was gonna sprout it was gonna spell in.

"I'm not gonna get down if I missed a mates successful a row. I'm conscionable gonna support shooting. Because I cognize the enactment that I enactment in."