The Toronto Raptors parted ways with their longest-serving player on Tuesday. According to ESPN’s Shams Charania, center Chris Boucher has signed a veteran minimum contract with the Boston Celtics, a division rival of the Raptors.
Boucher began his NBA journey with the Golden State Warriors, where he won a championship in 2018 despite limited playing time. He then joined the Raptors in 2018 and stayed with the team until 2025, earning a second title in his debut season in Toronto in 2019.
Over his seven-year stint with the Raptors, Boucher steadily earned a bigger role in the team’s rotation. While he wasn’t a major contributor during the 2019 championship run, he delivered his best individual season in 2020–21, posting career highs with averages of 13.6 points, 6.7 rebounds, 1.9 blocks, and 0.6 steals per game, along with shooting splits of 51.4% from the field and 38.3% from three-point range.
Boucher was not only the team’s longest-tenured player but also the final active member of the Raptors’ 2019 title squad. With his departure, TSN Sports’ Josh Lewenberg shared insight on how this shift could impact Scottie Barnes moving forward.
“Good for Chris,” Lewenberg wrote. “A guaranteed deal and a great landing spot on a depleted Celtics team that’s going to need his size, shooting and experience. The last remaining piece of Toronto’s 2019 championship team has officially moved on. Scottie Barnes is now the longest tenured Raptor.”
The Raptors selected Scottie Barnes with the fourth overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft. Since then, he’s made a strong impact—winning Rookie of the Year in 2022 and earning his first All-Star selection in 2024.
Although Barnes now holds the title of the Raptors’ longest-tenured player, he isn’t the most experienced veteran on the roster. Both Brandon Ingram and Jakob Poeltl entered the league back in 2016. In Poeltl’s case, he’s actually logged more time as a Raptor overall—having played his first stint with the team from 2016 to 2018 before being traded in the Kawhi Leonard deal, then rejoining Toronto in the middle of the 2023 season.
Technically, Poeltl has spent four and a half seasons in a Raptors uniform, slightly more than Barnes’ four seasons.
However, the most seasoned NBA player on the team is neither of them. That title belongs to Garrett Temple, who was recently re-signed by the Raptors. Now 39 years old, Temple has been in the league since 2010. His return marks his third straight season in Toronto—something he hasn’t done with any other team since his time with the Washington Wizards between 2012 and 2016.
