Nick Turchiaro-USA TODAY Sports
Chris Boucher Learned the Secret of NBA Success and It's Finally Paying Dividends
Chris Boucher had seen it all before. First the playing time starts to dwindle, the chances dry up, and sooner or later he knew how his story was going to end.
“If you get to the point where you are not playing and then you don’t play at all, you kind of know what’s coming next, man. That’s pretty much what I was scared about,” Boucher said from the OVO Athletic Centre on Thursday afternoon as he reflected on the first two months of his 2021-22 season.
He was trying to be a superstar, he admitted. He thought he could be like Kevin Durant or Kyrie Irving, but the more he tried the worse things got.
Six months later and with a new three-year, $35 million contract in his pocket, Boucher can laugh about it. The rollercoaster of a season has become a bit of a joke within his inner circle. To think that he went from nearly out of the Raptors rotation and on the brink of NBA death to one of Toronto’s most valuable role players in the span of just a handful of months is almost unthinkable. Back in those darkest days, he never imagined he’d be signing a long-term deal, he said.
It takes a maturity to admit that, something Boucher didn’t always have. For so long, the 29-year-old forward wanted to do things he couldn’t. He tried to make highlight-reel plays, nailing off-balanced three-pointers, off-the-dribble jumpers, and make spectacular blocks on hyper-aggressive closeouts. Sure, those moments were eye-opening when they worked, but usually his attempts to impress ended in disappointment.
“Everybody thinks it’s gonna be easy,” Boucher said. “But there's guys here that have been here for a long time, there's people that are hungry, that are coming for you too. It's not gonna be as easy as you think. … So for a young guy, and for advice I would say is to stay with it, but also know that you don’t have to be a superstar to be successful in the league. You could do a lot of different stuff.”
Once it clicked for Boucher, his season turned around. He played defense, real defense, racking up charges rather than blocked shots and creating opportunities with his energy and rebounding on the offensive end instead of hunting his own ill-fated shots.
“They did a really good job of showing me film, showing me what I was capable of doing,” Boucher said as he praised Raptors coach Nick Nurse and Toronto’s coaching staff. “Making me watch other people just to see that there was so many other ways to be impactful and have a great career in the NBA.”
Boucher was coveted when he hit the open market earlier this month, but the Montreal native said he never seriously considered heading south.
“I felt like I was building something and there's a bigger plan for me than just playing in Toronto. I wanted to be an extra inspiration for the kids. I wanted to do a lot of different stuff and being Canadian, that made it a lot easier for me to choose Toronto,” he said. “Masai, Bobby, they did a good job to show that they wanted me to stay here and kind of show me my role and it's all the things that I really wanted to do.
“I think Toronto is exactly where I wanted to be. They me you know, inspire kids; let me build my own image and be myself and that's something that you always want to be able to do.”
Having figured out the secret to NBA life, Boucher is now a role model and a valuable veteran for the Raptors. He won’t be a starter, let alone a superstar, but he can lead a bench unit and help prevent his younger teammates from making the same mistakes he did.
“I've always been a hard worker but there's a thing about work smarter, not harder. Those are things that I've got better into and I just got to figure it out ways to help the team,” he said. “If we all win, everybody wins.”
Further Reading
Otto Porter Jr. is ready to bring Toronto exactly what the Raptors are looking for
Former Raptor Rondae Hollis-Jefferson snaps back at Chris Broussard in defense of Toronto
