Though he’s only 21 years old, Precious Achiuwa seems wise beyond his years.
About to play for his second NBA team and entering just his second NBA season, Achiuwa was traded to the Toronto Raptors as part of the Kyle Lowry sign-and-trade deal and already appears to be aware of the realities of NBA life.
“I mean, I understand it's part of the business coming in,” Achiuwa said Monday when asked if he was surprised the Heat traded him after just one season. “I've been watching basketball since I started playing, watching the NBA. Me coming to the NBA, I already had at the back of my mind that it's business, it could happen any time, any day, whomever, and I'm not an exception. So I was just always ready for if that happened. And it happened. ...
“I told myself it could happen at any point in time, I wasn't so surprised. Like I said, it's business. Both sides are doing what's best for them and that's how I look at it.”
Achiuwa was taken in the first round with the 20th overall pick in the 2020 NBA draft by the Miami Heat. A talented and super-athletic young combo forward with tremendous upside on the defensive end, he was once thought of as a foundational piece of Miami’s future, but with the Heat going out and acquiring Lowry from the Raptors, those plans for Achiuwa clearly changed, and they opted to let him go.
Such was the cost Miami had to pay to acquire the surefire Hall-of-Famer Lowry, and it comes to the Raptors’ benefit.
Achiuwa comes in at a stout six-foot-eight, 225 pounds, can play and defend multiple positions and, because of his young age, coupled with those traits, appears to align perfectly with the apparent plan the Raptors have in place for themselves in this post-Lowry era.
“Everyone can kind of see the frontcourt, the types of players that slot in there,” said Raptors GM Bobby Webster last week. “I don't know if there's going to be a specific position, but we'll have some interesting lineups, especially on the defensive end for coach (Nick) Nurse. A lot of length, a lot of versatility, a lot of athleticism, and once they kind of learn how to play together, I think that will be one of our strengths.”
Achiuwa now figures to be a major part of what the Raptors are building, and he comes to his new team with a positive attitude.
“Winning. Just the winning mentality, doing whatever it takes to win basketball games: Rebounding, guarding multiple positions, creating offence for my teammates, screens, pick-and-rolls, passing the ball, just whatever it takes to win a basketball game — getting loose balls," Achiuwa said of what he brings to the Raptors. "For me, it’s all about winning.”
He later added it matters not what his specific role on the team is because he believes he’s a winning player.
“That’s up to the coaches,” Achiuwa said. “Like I said before, I’m a winning basketball player. I believe this organization wants to win. And it’s a winning culture. That’s what I’m about. I’m here to do whatever it takes to win basketball games. Whatever that role is, as long as we’re winning, I’m ready to embrace it.”
Given the similarities in styles of play between the Raptors and Heat, this “winning” impact Achiuwa claims to bring to the Raptors should become apparent rather quickly. Particularly because, despite him saying he doesn’t care what role he plays, he already seems to know why he was brought into the Raptors in the first place.
“Both teams are very defensive-minded, playing defence, playing big, playing athletic, being disruptive on the ball and all that kind of stuff,” said Achiuwa of the similarities between the Raptors and Heat. “The style on the defensive side of the ball game is pretty much the same — being able to switch, switchability, guarding multiple positions, extra effort, rebound, finish possessions. On the defensive side, there are a lot of similarities between both teams.”
That many things, both culture-wise and, by the sounds of things, schematically, seem to be the same between Miami and Toronto, Achiuwa should easily be able to find a fit with the Raptors organization.
At the very least, off the court, Achiuwa should be able to find some common ground with the Raptors’ new vice chairman Masai Ujiri. Like Ujiri, Achiuwa is a Nigerian native and wants to be known for more than what he’s done athletically.
“I just don't wanna be remembered as a basketball player,” said Achiuwa. “I want to give back to the community that I'm in. I've already started doing something like that and definitely go back home, Nigeria, do a lot of community stuff, help out kids, help out families in need, and just to provide for them in whatever way I can.”
Because of his desire to do more charitable, philanthropic work, Achiuwa seems to have some admiration for what Ujiri has done, particularly with his Giants of Africa program.
“I think it’s a big thing and I think it’s correct in terms of expanding basketball on the continent of Africa,” said Achiuwa. “I think that the talent is there. It’s just the opportunity is not to the degree that it is on this side of the world. But the talent is definitely there. It’s just finding the opportunities. I think the way basketball is improving on the continent of Africa is really big because there are a lot of kids who are really talented like myself — athletic, can play, are big, jump high — and I think that is a lot of talent there. ...
“I’m so glad that he is pushing that agenda and creating a lot of opportunities back home on the continent of Africa so they can better themselves and not just themselves but their families, the neighbourhood where they are from and the country and continent as a whole.”
In all, this new opportunity Achiuwa is getting with the Raptors looks like a great fit for him, on multiple fronts, and he appears eager to get things going.
“I mean, it's exciting. A young group of guys, being able to be part of not just a young group of guys but also a program that likes to win, and also develop,” Achiuwa said. “I look at it as an exciting opportunity coming here, develop my game, and also look forward to winning basketball games.”
