Bamba ready to get down to business with Raptors

Mo Bamba knows he fits in well in the Toronto Raptors' locker room. Now he just has to find his place with them on the court. 

TORONTO – Mo Bamba knows he fits in well in the Toronto Raptors’ locker room. Now he just has to find his place with them on the court.

The seven-foot centre signed with Toronto on Sunday and made his Raptors debut the next night, playing four minutes in a 107-106 win over the Orlando Magic.

Bamba was still finding his footing less than 24 hours into joining his sixth NBA team — his luggage was lost on his way to Toronto — but said getting acclimated was more about learning the Raptors’ lingo than learning his teammates’ names.

“Although a lot of teams do a lot of the same stuff, every team has their own terminology,” said Bamba, sitting in front of his new locker at Scotiabank Arena. “So a down here might be an ice somewhere else, or, you know, a left call on a pick and roll is happening here might be a weak call somewhere else.

“Everyone runs the same plays, typically, but it’s all different words. But when you’ve been blessed to be around the league for as long as I have, you pick up on these things.”

Bamba was taken sixth overall by Orlando at the 2018 NBA draft but didn’t catch on with the Magic, Los Angeles Lakers, Philadelphia 76ers, Los Angeles Clippers and New Orleans Pelicans over seven seasons. He’s averaged 6.8 points, 5.4 rebounds, 1.3 blocks and 16.8 minutes in 364 NBA games (101 starts).

He played 14 games for the Salt Lake City Stars, the G League affiliate of the Utah Jazz, this season and was solid in averaging 16.5 points, 12.3 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 2.9 blocks and 28.7 minutes.

“It always just shows you how hard it is to make it in this sport,” said Bamba on his time in the G-League. “How dialled in you need to be, and how talented these 450 guys (in the NBA) are.