Mo Pete’s Buzzer Beater Defined An Era Of Raptors Basketball
How does a fan-favorite become one?
Step one: Have fun on the court any chance you get.
Step two: Represent the underdog. Become one with the fanbase.
And the final step: Do some ridiculous things on the basketball court.
No matter what your description of a fan-favorite is, Morris Peterson was the definition of it when he was in Toronto.
To this day, fans still wear #24 jerseys to Raptors games.
His trick shots, timely buckets, and flair for the dramatic make him an important part of the Raptors’ history.
But let’s dive into the one moment that made him forever a part of NBA history too… in this film room.
Mo Pete is a Michigan State legend. Entering the NBA – he was coming off an NCAA title with the Spartans, leading the team in scoring, and was voted the Big Ten Player of the Year.
He was drafted by the Raptors at the perfect time—21st overall in 2000—with Vince Carter blossoming into a star and a crop of role players and veterans making up a feisty playoff team.
Mo Pete stepped in immediately and played an important role as a rookie – playing over 22 minutes a night, becoming a marksman shooter for that era, defending at a high level, and finishing fourth in Rookie of the Year voting.
Peterson was so good and effective – that he became a starter towards the end of year 1 and even started in Games 6 and 7 of their series against the Sixers to try and contain Aaron McKie.
It became clear that Mo Pete was going to be a part of this core long-term.
And while things went haywire and the Vince Carter era didn’t end the way people would have hoped
It was actually Peterson who took on the mantle of being the fan favourite once Carter left. He was always smiling on the court. He paired really well as a defender and shooter next to their new blossoming young star, Chris Bosh.
And he ultimately just always looked like he was having fun out there. In the mid-2000s, a crop of shooting guards came into the league, like Peterson – sort of the 3-n-D wing before that term became popular. He grew into a really effective player and even had a season where he averaged nearly 17 points a game and shot 40% from behind the arc on over five attempts a game—Elite for that era.
He embraced the city as if he was born there and defended it like it.
He would break out for performances on any given night, scoring 30 or getting hot and closing out a team.
And he would make ridiculous trick shots.
Mo Pete had helped Raptors fans survive through a really tough era of basketball.
He made games enjoyable.
I can attest to that. I was too young to embrace the Vince Carter era fully but Mo Pete, Jalen Rose, Jose Calderon, Charlie Villanueva, Chris Bosh… that team was my childhood. And as a kid, who didn’t really care or understand contract extensions, I couldn’t fathom the idea that Mo Pete would not be on the Raptors.
Still, the team was in a transition phase. They had just hired Bryan Colangelo as GM and President. He had just drafted Andrea Bargnani #1 overall in 2006 after an atrocious 2005-2006 season for the Raptors. He flipped Charlie V, who had finished 2nd in ROTY voting for TJ Ford. He also signed two international guys, Jorge Garbajosa and Anthony Parker, to complete the Raptors rotation while extending Chris Bosh to a contract extension.
However, with those changes, it became apparent that the Raptors would not be keeping Peterson, entering the final year of his contract in the 2006-2007 season. As a result, Peterson’s minutes drastically dropped from averaging nearly 40 minutes a night in 2006 to less than when he was a rookie.
He was still effective in stints, but the organization was shifting to something else… and for what it’s worth, the 2006-2007 Raptors were good – the only real bright spot of an ugly era of hoops.
Peterson didn’t complain. He even was quoted by the Toronto Star later saying that he just wanted to do what was best for the organization. He still played in 71 games and started in 11 but he wasn’t a part of the long-term plans of the Raptors.
Juan Dixon was playing well, and Anthony Parker was breaking out. Garbajosa was taking up the rest of the wing minutes and Bosh had turned into an All-Star. By mid-March, the Raptors were firmly in a position to be a playoff team for the first time since 2002. But they were still battling for positioning.
The mighty Detroit Pistons and LeBron James Cavaliers had run away with the Eastern conference.
The gritty, defensive-minded Chicago Bulls were firmly in the driver’s seat for the third seed with a crop of guys like Loul Deng, Kirk Hinrich, Ben Wallace, and Andres Nocioni. (Just wanted to give those guys a shoutout, also one of my favourite teams of that era)
Anyways… the 4th seed was going to come down to a race between the Raptors, Miami Heat and Washington Wizards.
And while you might think, ‘who cares?’ – there was a little more motivation for the Raptors in 2007:
For starters, it meant taking home their first Division Banner – which, back then, meant a little more than it does now. Besides, the 4th seed would have given them homecourt advantage in the playoffs, and that was important for a team that went 30-11 in the season in Toronto and was below .500 on the road.
So for the Raptors, battling for seeding, March basketball meant something.
And they were set to face Gilbert Arena and Antwan Jamison’s Wizards in DC on March 30th in an all-important game…
Washington was just one game back of the Raptors for the fourth seed. If they won, they’d be tied, and then there would be tiebreakers that I’m way too lazy to explain in this video…
And the Raptors were a bit depleted. Their rookie Bargnani was sidelined while recovering from emergency appendix surgery. And Garbajosa had just sustained a gruesome leg injury a few days before that ruled him out for the rest of the season. So, the stakes were high in this random regular season game.
The game started as any 2006-2007 basketball game did:
Random post-ups for the big man…seriously… one of the first possessions for the Wizards was a Brendan Haywood post-up… which the Raptors inexplicably double-teamed, and it led to a WIDE open corner three for Arenas.
And people want us to go BACK to that era… unfathomable.
By halftime, the Raptors were looking good, leading by 3. Bosh was leading the way with 21 points, cooking Jamison any chance he got. But Arenas and Jamison kept the Wizards within striking distance, and in the 3rd quarter… things really flipped.
Toronto went cold… or I should say… Bosh did as they double-teamed him when he got it in the post. The Wizards took a 2-point lead heading into an all-important 4th quarter, and by the way… almost had their own buzzer-beater.
Juan Dixon scored 8 points in the first 4 minutes of the 4th quarter to help the Raptors re-take the lead. Hibachi answered back with a few points himself to help the Wizards take the lead again.
The game was back and forth from there.
With 2 minutes left and the Wizards up three… the Raptors had some good ball movement on this possession, leading to a Parker three. Tie game. A pair of Arenas free throws on the other end tied it again. Ford, who had a great game… drove against Arenas the other way and finished inside… tied again. Next possession down… Caron Butler gets followed on a loose ball, but he misses both free throws.
A couple of possessions later, the Wizards do the right thing and give Arenas the ball… The clock is winding down…, and he hits a TOUGH shot to give them a three-point lead.
Just peak Hibachi.
After a timeout, the Raptors give the ball to Ford who takes it again and scores.
On the next possession, they foul Deshawn Stevenson, who splits a pair of free throws … 2 point game. Raptors try the same thing.. Ford goes right… and a guy who had been cooking all night… misses the layup to tie it.
At this point, 95% of NBA games are over.
Caron Butler got fouled… hit both free throws… 4 point wizards lead.
But wait, what’s this… a perfectly expected out-of-timeout play by Sam Mitchell gets Juan Dixon a corner three? Back to a 1 point game.
But you’ll notice there’s a familiar face on the court now: Good old Mo Pete… making his FIRST appearance of the game in order to pose as a shooting threat. The Raptors and Wizards traded a pair of late game free throws… Mo Pete subbed on and Subbed off again… situational 3-point shooting vibe.
Arenas went to the free throw line with 3.8 seconds left… nailed a pair of free throws.
Toronto was out of timeouts.
At this moment… Peterson’s trick shot wizard… culminated in one of the greatest buzzer-beaters in NBA history.
A moment that forever cemented Mo Pete, this role player with an affinity for making wild plays, as a fan favourite.
A shot that helped his team force overtime… win the game, and eventually their first division banner.
Welcome to a moment… in Raptors history.
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