Masai Ujiri

Ujiri returned to the Nuggets in 2010, as general manager and executive vice president in charge of basketball operations.[6][12][13] With this post, Ujiri became the first African-born general manager in major American sports.[14] After putting together a Nuggets’ roster that won 57 games, the most in Denver's NBA history, Ujiri was named the 2013 NBA Executive of the Year.[14] He is the only non-American ever to win the award.[15]

On May 31, 2013, Ujiri signed a 5-year, $15 million deal to become executive vice president and general manager of the Toronto Raptors, replacing Colangelo in that capacity.[16] One of his first moves as Raptors GM was to trade away Andrea Bargnani to the New York Knicks.[17] During Ujiri's tenure as general manager, the Raptors, led by the backcourt duo of Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan, returned to the playoffs in 2014. On April 19, 2014, at a fan rally prior to Game 1 of the first-round Eastern Conference playoff series against the Brooklyn Nets, Ujiri shouted, "F--- Brooklyn!" to the gathered crowd from the stage.[18] Ujiri apologized during halftime of Game 1, stating: "wrong choice of words. I apologize to kids out there and to the Brooklyn guys."[19] NBA Commissioner Adam Silver fined Ujiri $25,000.[20]

On April 18, 2015, at a fan rally before the playoff series between the Washington Wizards and the Raptors, in response to comments from Wizards guard Paul Pierce that the Raptors don't have the "it" factor, Ujiri shouted to the gathered crowd, "We don't give a s--t about 'it!'"[21] NBA Commissioner Adam Silver fined Ujiri $35,000 and the Raptors organization another $25,000. Ujiri apologized for his comments saying, "I will choose my words more carefully in the future."[22]

Under Ujiri, the Raptors became a consistent playoff team every year, winning five Division titles and finishing the 2017-18 regular season with the best regular season record in the Eastern Conference. He also helped the team reach the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time in franchise history in 2016, where his contract was extended to act as the team's president.[23] His title as general manager was then transferred to Jeff Weltman. After Weltman left the organization to join the Orlando Magic in 2017, Bobby Webster was named as the team's new general manager,[1][2] and began reshaping the Raptors roster after suffering consecutive second-round eliminations in 2017 and 2018 (both four-game sweeps), all three playoff defeats at the hands of the Cleveland Cavaliers, led by LeBron James.

Ujiri fired head coach Dwane Casey shortly after their 2018 second round exit to LeBron James and the Cavs (despite Casey being named Coach of the Year), promoting assistant Nick Nurse to head coach, conducted the high-profile trade of DeRozan for Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green later that summer, and acquired Marc Gasol before the trade deadline. The DeRozan-for-Leonard trade was initially controversial since DeRozan was the longest-tenured Raptor and fan favourite while Leonard had spent most of the 2017–18 season injured, along with his demand to be traded to a Los Angeles-based team only. However, the move paid off as the Raptors went on to win the 2019 NBA championship, their first title in the history of their franchise, and Leonard was named NBA Finals MVP.[24][25]

On June 13, 2019, just after the Toronto Raptors had clinched a 4–2 series win over the Golden State Warriors in the 2019 NBA Finals, Ujiri was captured on video in an altercation with an Alameda County Sheriff deputy.[26] Sgt. Ray Kelly, a spokesman for the Sheriff's Department, alleged that Ujiri failed to show proper credentials for access to the floor. Sgt. Kelly further alleged that when stopped, Ujiri had shoved a sheriff's deputy, that the deputy had made contact in response, and that Ujiri shoved the deputy back and made contact with his face.[26] Several bystanders and Oracle Arena security personnel intervened to separate the two. After a tense staredown between the men, Ujiri was restrained from approaching the deputy. Raptors player Kyle Lowry then came over to Ujiri and escorted him onto the court to celebrate with the team.[27] Alternate angles of the incident appear to show Ujiri shouting in the direction of the deputy with his arm around Lowry after making his way onto the court.

The Sheriff's Department did not release body camera footage depicting the start of the incident and announced that their footage had happened to "switch off" when Ujiri allegedly struck the officer.[28][29] Warriors season ticketholder Greg Wiener, who was seated near the altercation, alleged that the deputy used excessive force and initiated physical contact,[30] while two other fans (Ben Baller and Lucas Abrenica) that were sitting within 10 feet of the incident also disputed the deputy's version of events.[31] In the videos, Ujiri can be seen with game credentials in his hand.[32] However, the NBA had released a media advisory prior to the conclusion of the game stating that only personnel with gold armbands would be allowed on the court due to a visiting team winning. Many of the gold armbands were visible on photographers and executives on the court (including members of the Raptors ownership), but are not visible in any angles of Ujiri during the incident.[33]

Following the altercation, the Alameda County Sheriff's Office stated that it would be recommending charges of battery against Ujiri. The deputy involved has claimed to have suffered a concussion from the incident.[34][35] The investigation ended on September 21. Following a private meeting on October 21, 2019 with Ujiri, his attorneys and Assistant District Attorney Terry Wiley, which was held at the Sheriff's Department, Assistant District Attorney Teresa Drenick announced that the District Attorney's office would not take further action in connection with the incident.[36]

Deputy Alan Strickland's body camera footage was released in August 2020. The footage showed Ujiri reaching for his game credentials, but neither the purple trophy credential or the yellow armband credential needed to access the court postgame is seen before the deputy shoved Ujiri twice in the chest.[37][38] The footage revealed that the deputy, not Ujiri, initiated the physical contact.[39][40][41][42]

On October 6, 2020, Strickland's lawyers filed a motion to dismiss a counterclaim to a lawsuit from Ujiri. A Zoom hearing was scheduled for November 17.[43]