Canada's A.J. Lawson has career night for Toronto Raptors

A.J. Lawson has been living the dream this week. He had his first career NBA start on Friday, lining up for his hometown Toronto Raptors at Scotiabank Arena. Then on Monday, Lawson had his best game as a professional basketball player.

Lawson, from Brampton, Ont., was one of four Raptors to earn a double-double as Toronto routed the Washington Wizards 119-104. Lawson finished with 32 points and 12 rebounds, both career highs, off the bench.

"Probably been dreaming about this, who knows how long? Since I first touched the basketball?" said Lawson. "I mean, I'm a Toronto kid, grew up in Brampton. To have a performance like this, it just means everything.

"It's for the city, for family, for the country. I mean, all glory to God. Couldn't do it without Him."

Lawson's path to the NBA, and getting minutes with his childhood team, was not direct.

He went undrafted out of South Carolina in 2021, then signed with the College Park Skyhawks, the G-League affiliate of the Atlanta Hawks, the next year. He played a season with the Guelph Nighthawks of the Canadian Elite Basketball League that summer, before joining the Dallas Mavericks' summer league team.

Lawson also spent time with the Minnesota Timberwolves before signing a two-way deal with the Raptors on Dec. 11.

A raft of injuries to Toronto's rotation has given Lawson increased playing time this week, but he said he's felt valued by his Raptors and Raptors 905 teammates since joining the organization — including being greeted with a cheer of "real bad mon!" when he came into Toronto's locker-room post-game.

"Just some Toronto slang," laughed Lawson. "We from the city, just giving the Toronto culture some love and the Jamaican culture, for sure.

"Shout out to my teammates for