“I had been told that if Kevin Garnett wasn’t around at the seventh pick they were gonna take me” - When Damon Stoudamire almost wasn’t the Raptors’ first-ever draft pick

The Toronto Raptors are one of the newest teams in the league, entering as part of the NBA's expansion in 1995. During that year, the franchise participated in the rookie draft and chose Damon Stoudamire with the No. 7 pick. However, the diminutive point guard almost didn't become the Raptors' first-ever draft pick. That distinction almost went to Kevin Garnett, who went off the board two selections earlier.

Stoudamire once talked about the scenario, looking back on draft night and how he felt about the Raptors' decision.

"I knew they were pretty high on me, and I had been told that if Kevin Garnett wasn't around at the seventh pick, they were gonna take me," Stoudamire told SLAM in 2016. "To be hand-picked to be a cornerstone of a franchise, that in itself was a big deal for me."

What if KG was still available?

Given that Garnett turned out to be one of the greatest basketball players in history, envisioning him starting his Hall of Fame career in Toronto makes for some intriguing imagination fodder.

However, the partnership might have dissolved early because Isiah Thomas, then the Raptors' general manager, planned on having the high school draftee suit up only for home games so he could enroll in college. Can you see an ultra-competitive Garnett being amenable to such a structure? If he didn't clash heads with the front office, he would have probably harbored ill feelings and looked to get out as soon as possible.

Fortunately for the versatile forward, the Minnesota Timberwolves nabbed him with the fifth overall pick, leaving Toronto with its second option.

In hindsight, the organization drafted well because Stoudamire ended up winning the 1996 Rookie of the Year award and had a productive albeit short tenure up north before getting traded to the Portland Trail Blazers in 1998.

What if Toronto passed on the Mighty Mouse?

Another reason Stoudamire almost didn't begin his NBA journey in Toronto is that its fans wanted the franchise to draft another player - Ed O'Bannon.

O'Bannon was another power forward prospect who had just helped the University of California, Los Angeles win the 1995 NCAA Basketball Championship. He was also named NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player that year.

After Stoudamire's name was called while the Raptors' clock was up during the draft, fans who attended the event at SkyDome (now called Rogers Centre) in Downtown Toronto booed and chanted for O'Bannon's name.

What if the Raptors gave in to the mob? O'Bannon eventually wound up in another east coast team in New Jersey Nets and felt so homesick that he couldn't live up to the hype that surrounded him. As a result, his NBA career concluded after just two seasons.

Well, that is just one year less than Stoudamire's time in Toronto.

Growing disgruntled with the management, Mighty Mouse informed the Raptors that he would leave the team when he becomes a free agent in the 1998 offseason. Rather than lose him for nothing, the front office shipped him to his hometown team for several players and draft picks.

Through its first years in the league, Toronto showed an uncanny ability to draft future stars beginning with Stoudamire. Unfortunately, the organization apparently had problems developing and keeping them happy.