Masai Ujiri Out as Raptors' President After Draft

The executive helped Toronto win its only championship.

Masai Ujiri talks to the media before the 2025 season. / John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images

The Toronto Raptors will reportedly have a new face calling the shots in 2026.

The Raptors are parting ways with vice chairman and president of basketball operations Masai Ujiri, according to a Friday morning report from Shams Charania of ESPN. Ujiri, 54, had served in his current role since 2016 and was entering the final year of his current contract.

The reported move comes just a day after the conclusion of the 2025 draft, with Toronto seeking to dig out of a 30-52 hole this season. The team's '25 performance was actually a slight improvement from a 25-57 slog in 2024.

That's a far cry from the Raptors' 2010s glory days, in which Ujiri had a significant hand. The team won 50 or more games every year from 2017 to '20 and won 48 in 2022. Ujiri's risky trade for forward Kawhi Leonard in the summer of 2018 is considered one of the boldest in modern times, paying off handsomely in the form of the 2019 championship.

A native of Bournemouth, England with roots in Kenya and Nigeria—as well as a naturalized Canadian citizen—Ujiri was North American sports's first African general manager.

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