The Toronto Star’s Doug Smith discusses covering the NBA and his new book We the North: 25 Years of the Toronto Raptors (Viking, 2020), with Joseph Planta.

We the North: 25 Years of the Toronto Raptors by Doug Smith (Viking, 2020). Click to buy this book from Amazon.ca: We the North

Text of introduction by Joseph Planta:

I am Planta: On the Line, in Vancouver, British Columbia, at TheCommentary.ca.

Doug Smith joins me now. For twenty-five years, he has been covering the Toronto Raptors basketball team for the Toronto Star. He has just written about the franchise, the players, fans, and the experience of reporting on the NBA in a new book. It’s called We the North: 25 Years of the Toronto Raptors, and it’s a highly readable, engaging book about the memorable moments over the last quarter century. The book discusses all the players that Smith saw up close like Vince Carter, Kawhi Leonard, DeMar DeRozen, Damon Stoudamire, as well as figures in management like Masai Ujiri, and the contributions of fans like Drake and Nav Bhatai. I’ll ask Doug about covering the team as he has, their championship season in 2019, and what might we expect with NBA play in the future. @SmithRaps is Doug’s Twitter handle, and this new book is published by Viking. Please welcome to the Planta: On the Line program, Doug Smith; Mr. Smith, good morning.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (16.7MB)

Subscribe: RSS