Masai Ujiri and the Toronto Raptors ended a 13-year collaboration that featured an NBA championship in 2019.
The Toronto Raptors’ Masai Ujiri era is officially extinct.
Toronto parent company Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment announced that the Raptors parted ways with longtime president/vice chairman Masai Ujiri, ending a 13-year collaboration that produced a championship in 2019.
Ujiri’s departure was part of a series of front office transactions for Ontario, which also granted extensions to “key personnel,” including general manager Bobby Webster.
“During his 13 seasons with the Raptors, Masai has helped transform the organization on the court and has been an inspirational leader off it,” MLSE President and CEO Keith Pelley said in a statement. “He brought an NBA Championship to Toronto and urged us to believe in this city, and ourselves. We are grateful for all he has done and wish him and his family the very best.”
Ujiri, 54, began his front office career as a scout in Orlando and Denver before initially working behind the scenes for the Raptors in 2008. He later returned to the Rockies to become their general manager in 2010, making him the NBA’s first general manager of African descent. For his efforts during the 2012-13 season—which saw the Nuggets win a then-franchise record 57 games and acquire Andre Iguodala and Andre Miller—Ujiri was bestowed the Executive of the Year award.
Ujiri went back north in 2013, which tipped off a franchise-record streak of seven consecutive postseason showings. He held the same general manager position for three years before passing it on to Jeff Weltman and taking on the role of president of basketball operations.
Under his watch, the Raptors acquired some of the most iconic names in franchise history, including OG Anunoby, Kawhi Leonard, Pascal Siakam, and Fred VanFleet. Together with mainstay Kyle Lowry, the Raptors became the first team beyond United States borders to lift the Larry O’Brien Trophy, taking down the Golden State Warriors in six games in the 2019 NBA Finals.
Toronto has since entered a period of rebuilding, having bid farewell to nearly every name from their championship group and rebuilding from the ground up. The Raptors have missed the playoffs in each of the last three seasons and appear to be set on building around a core consisting of homegrown All-Star Scottie Barnes, the extended Immanuel Quickley, and the acquired Brandon Ingram, who came over from New Orleans in a deadline deal despite dealing with a season-ending ankle injury.
Ujiri’s final moves were to supervise the Raptors’ activities in the 2025 NBA Draft, which saw them add South Carolina product Collin Murray-Boyles with the ninth overall pick before picking up newly-crowned Florida national champion Alijah Martin 30 picks later.
Geoff Magliocchetti is on X @GeoffJMags
