Syracuse Basketball: Leo Rautins’ Legacy on the Court, and in the Booth

Most Americans know Leo Rautins for his early 80s exploits with Syracuse Basketball. Most Canadian’s eulogize him for his broadcasting exploits in Toronto.

The NBA Finals tip off on Thursday night, and the Golden State Warriors are in all but too familiar territory. However, their counterpart Toronto is playing for the Larry O’Brien Trophy for the first time in its’ 24-year history.

Syracuse basketball legend Leo Rautins, a member of Toronto’s broadcasting team since its’ 1995 inception, will continue to glorify Canada basketball and represent his alma mater Syracuse while calling games starting May 30th in Scotiabank Arena.

Rautins’ Canadian roots and basketball experience across the border compliments on-air color commentator Matt Devlin, who has been working alongside him since 2008. Devlin, a Syracuse native, has been covering the Raptors night in and night out for the last 11 years alongside Rautins and Jack Armstrong.

Rautins’ Rise to Basketball Relevancy in America:

At the tender age of 16, Rautins was the face of Toronto’s high school basketball scene after being named the youngest Canadian ever to join their senior national team, a position he would end up playing on for 15 years.

After garnering serious international attention, Rautins committed to Minnesota, where his eight points, four rebounds, and four assists a night landed him on the Big Ten’s All-Rookie Team in 1979.

Following the strong freshman season, Rautins left Minnesota for Syracuse and then already 10-year head coach Jim Boeheim.

Then things took off.

At SU, Rautins averaged over 12 points, six rebounds, and five assists. The 6-foot-8 forward became the first player ever to record a triple-double during Big East conference play, a feat he would achieve twice in just one month during his senior season. The dominant campaign from Rautins earned him an Honorable Mention on college basketball’s All-American Team and a spot on the All-Big East Third Team.

Rautins’ Canadian Legacy and NBA Legacy

Rautins’s legacy as a Canadian in the NBA took shape before he even stepped on the court. In 1983, the Toronto native became the first Canadian to ever get drafted in the NBA Draft’s first round. Ever since the 6-foot-8 forward was drafted 17th overall by Philadelphia, the league has had 16 first round selections of Canadian descent.

After Rautins’ first season in the NBA was tarnished due to poorly treated torn ligaments in his foot, the rookie played just 28 games with Philadelphia, and was dealt to Indiana the following September. After being waived, Rautins played just four more games in the NBA with Atlanta after signing there but was eventually waived in November of 1984.

After commentating for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation during the 1984 Olympics, Rautins took his talents overseas, where he’d spend the next seven years of his life playing for a variety of basketball organizations in Italy, France, and Spain.

Three years after he hung them up, Rautins began working with Toronto’s broadcasting team immediately following their 1995 inception. Five years later, Rautins underwent his 14th knee operation since the beginning of his basketball career.

In 2000, the Canadian pioneer was inducted into Ontario’s Basketball Hall of Fame for his groundbreaking exploits in Toronto, Syracuse, the NBA, and overseas.

Five years later, Rautins became the head coach of Canada’s National Team, a position he’d hold for six years all while working for the Raptors’ broadcasting team.

Rautins has always used his broadcasting position to promote Canada and Syracuse basketball. Two-and-a-half years ago, in November of 2016, Rautins and Syracuse native Devlin interviewed Oshae Brissett during the halftime break of a Raptors/Knicks regular season game at the then-Air Canada Centre, where the Mississauga native committed to Syracuse.

https://twitter.com/ZachWeisleder/status/1058123794005590017

Rautins has proudly promoted the country that raised him throughout his professional career as a player, coach, and broadcaster. The 59-year-old’s son Andy played at SU from 2005-2010, and by the end of his career under Boeheim, mimicked his father in the scoring and passing department by averaging over 12 points a night, and a matched five assists per game as well.

Rautins left Canada and pursued a collegiate and professional basketball career in the United States and overseas. He then took his experience as a player and used it towards an illustrious career as a broadcaster for Canada’s lone NBA franchise.

Come Thursday night, the Toronto-born broadcaster will have the chance to commentate Toronto when they host Golden State at home in Canada’s most important sporting event in recent memory.