Pascal Siakam Is Ready to Get Back on the Court After a Month Spent Leading from the Sidelines

Pascal Siakam was finally where he wanted to be.

After a lackluster year and a half plagued by the COVID-19 pandemic and a shoulder injury that ended his 2020-21 campaign, the Toronto Raptors forward had solidified himself as an All-NBA player. The next step, he said, was taking his game to another level: A top-five player was his goal this year.

Through the first nine games of this season, the 28-year-old had entered the periphery of that conversation. OK, so maybe he wasn't quite at Luka Doncic or Giannis Antetokounmpo's level, but he getting closer. That was until Nov. 4 when Siakam fell awkwardly on a wet spot in Dallas, straining his right adductor, and sidelining him for the better part of the past month.

"I just have a lot of goals and ambitions," Siakam said Sunday on the eve of his expected return Monday night against the Cleveland Cavaliers. "I've put a lot of work into what I do and I have all these plans in my head and I think that most of the time, God is like ‘I know you have this plan, but I got my own plans.’ It always happens that way. But the good thing about it is his plan is better than mine, so I just follow it and I know that I’m always gonna come back and after that, I’ll be better than I was before. It’s always been like that and I trust it.”

This injury was nothing like the last one for Siakam. For one, it didn't require surgery and the fear that came going under the knife for the first time nearly 18 months ago. But Siakam has also changed in that time. 

"I’m growing," he said. "Going through injuries... it kind of toughens you up. You tend to understand a little bit. I don’t want to go through any of them but I just felt like I always learned something. And I always want to take the positive."

Siakam has taken on more of a leadership role over the past few weeks as he's worked his way through the rehab process. Unable to help the team on the court, he's found his voice off it, pulling the team together one day after a practice last week to send a message to the younger players: Size these opportunities, he told the group.

“I just thought we’ve been losing. Sometimes the mood is a little off. That’s normal. That’s basketball," Siakam said. "I wanted to make sure that everyone knows that we’re going through things that are not normal. It’s not like we have all our players and everything is great. It’s not good times, but we’ve got to stay together in those moments when it’s not good times."

A year ago, Siakam would have been uncomfortable making a speech like that. Vocal leadership was a new role for him within the team, as he admitted on media day in 2021. For so long that had been the task of Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan. But now the page had turned. This was a new era of Raptors basketball and Siakam was going to have to step up.

"To me, it seems like it is fairly comfortable to him now," Raptors coach Nick Nurse said of Siakam's leadership. "I'm not asking him to do it. He's coming forward and saying ‘hang on a second coach’ or whatever. And I think he is trying to be helpful, even in one-on-one situations too."

Last Friday after practice, Siakam walked over to O.G. Anunoby who was getting some shots off with Raptors assistant coaches Rico Hines and Earl Watson. He began helping Anunoby through a drill, lowering his shoulder into Hines' chest in slow motion as if to illustrate how to create space and maneuver in the paint for Anunoby to learn.

The next day against the Dallas Mavericks, Anunoby showed off that aggressiveness in one of his best offensive performances of the season. At one point in the third quarter, he used a screen from Thad Young to go one-on-one right at Christian Wood. After three dribbles into the paint, Anunoby spun to his right and lofted a left-handed floater into the net. It was quintessential Siakam.

The Raptors have done OK without Siakam, all things considered. They've gone 5-5 over the last 10 games while battling injuries to virtually every key player save for Anunoby and Thad Young. It hasn't been pretty though, as they've watched the offense putter along, ranked 25th in the league since Siakam's injury.

Now it's time to get back on track. Siakam is ready. He's practiced every day for the past week with the team and, though he's officially listed as questionable, he announced on his Instagram that he'll be back Monday. The injury was frustrating, there's no doubt, but Siakam has been here before. He's learned.

"If you're able to get the other side of it," Siakam said, "good things always happen."

Further Reading

Chris Boucher continues to provide a spark as Raptors knock off Luka Doncic & the Mavericks

Jeff Dowtin Jr. has been turning heads in limited action: 'He's been pretty solid'

Ben Simmons praises Raptors' defense: Toronto is a 'tough, tough, tough team'