All it took was the starting lineup being introduced to usher in a new era in Toronto Raptors basketball.

As Scotiabank Arena public address announcer Herbie Kuhn called out the home starters against the Miami Heat, Scottie Barnes came last.

An honor often left to a team leader or veteran; it was Pascal Siakam’s throughout most of the 2023-24 season. With Siakam reportedly traded to the Indiana Pacers in a blockbuster transaction, Barnes became the Raptors frontman midway through his third NBA season.

It left him with the last-man honour, and while the final result won’t have massive repercussions in what has become a largely rebuilding campaign for Toronto, it marked the first step in the Raptors’ growth away from the 2019 NBA Championship-winning core.

Having not officially confirmed the trade by tip-off, the Raptors were relatively shorthanded to start, unable to draw on Bruce Brown Jr. and Jordan Nwora, but that didn’t matter to them — they balled out.