Raptors selections Ja’Kobe Walter, Jonathan Mogbo presented in Toronto

TORONTO — Years before Jonathan Mogbo was drafted by the Toronto Raptors, he made a habit of stopping and posing for pictures with local fans.

Mogbo visited his childhood best friend Scottie Barnes in Toronto after Barnes was drafted by the Raptors. Toronto scootered around town and stopped at a convenience store for a snack.

A Raptors fan recognized Barnes and assumed the 6-foot-6 Mogbo was former Toronto forward Precious Achiuwa and asked for a photo of the two of them.

“I didn’t know if I should take the picture and (Barnes) said, ‘Brother, take the picture,’ so I said, ‘Okay,’ and he tried to get out of the picture, and I said, ‘No, I have to you go in and take the picture,’” Mogbo said in an introductory press conference Friday, a day after being selected 31st overall by the Raptors. “Then every time I go back, it always happens at least once.

“Then it happened, I finally met Precious at dinner and they told him the story and he said, ‘She’s kind of like me.’

Toronto selected Baylor University swingman Ja’Kobe Walter 19th overall in the first round on Wednesday night. Then, the next day, the Raptors selected Mogbo, a center from the University of San Francisco.

Barnes, of course, was at home in Mogbo when the selection was announced.

“I looked around and I think I saw him crying,” Mogbo said of his old friend he insists on calling “Scott.”

“You know, there were tears of joy. I didn’t shed a tear. I couldn’t. I had to be the strong one.”

Walter was at the Barclays Center in New York when his name was called. He said it didn’t take long for Raptors fans to follow his social media and start following him on all platforms.

“I got a lot of messages. Read the comments. The fan base is already crazy,” Walter said during his first visit to Canada. “Just knowing that it feels like a whole country behind me.

“It’s just a blessing. I’m very grateful for that.”

Mogbo averaged 14.2 points, 10.1 rebounds and 3.6 assists a game as a center for the University of San Francisco. He had a 63.6 field goal percentage with the Dons and made neither of his two three-point attempts.

“I feel like that’s how Jonathan Mogbo is talked about in his pre-draft stuff,” Mogbo said of the development of his shooting. “I’m not going to go out there and try to shoot 30 threes, but I’m going to play the role well, play my hardest and be myself, that’s the most important thing.

“It all comes down to repetition and confidence. I feel like I’ve got a great process for it, so I’m going to stay in the gym and get through it.”

Walter averaged 14.5 points, 4.4 rebounds and 1.4 assists as a freshman guard for the Baylor Bears last season. He said he’s a better photo maker than people give him credit for.

“Obviously getting to the NBA, I have to learn a lot of things, the game, even more the IQ, the speed of the game, the strength,” Walter said. “There are a lot of things I need to work on.

“I think my main focus is going to be just getting off the ball and creating for others.”

Walter and Mogbo weren’t the only picks the Raptors made.

Less than an hour before Mogbo was drafted, Toronto struck a deal with Sacramento that sent small forward Jalen McDaniels to the Kings for first baseman Davion Mitchell and power forward Sasha Vezenkov, the 45th overall pick in this year’s draft year and second of the Portland Trailblazers. round pick in the 2025 draft.

Toronto then took University of Houston guard Jamal Shead with Sacramento’s pick. In the final minutes of the draft, another deal was struck with the Minnesota Timberwolves, allowing the Raptors to take Ulrich Chomche – pronounced shom-SHAY’ – with the 57th overall pick.

Because both deals were pending league approval, Toronto was unable to make either of those newly acquired players available Friday morning.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published on June 28, 2024.

John Chidley-Hill, Canadian Press