TORONTO – It was kismet.

Ja’Kobe Walter had no idea that the Raptors were targeting him with the 19th-overall pick in Wednesday’s NBA draft. A 19-year-old combo guard out of Baylor, Walter didn’t work out for Toronto during the pre-draft process and has never even been to Canada.

But there he was, taking in the moment and walking onto the Barclays Center’s stage in Brooklyn to shake commissioner Adam Silver’s hand, wearing a purple floral jacket – a colour reminiscent of his new team’s origins, 30 years after its inception.

“This is where I’m supposed to be,” said Walter, whose first name was his parents’ homage to two of the game’s all-time greats, Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant.

“[Getting drafted] meant the world to me. Me and my family have talked about this for a long time. I prayed so many times for this moment right here. So now that it’s finally here, it’s dreams into reality, and I’m just grateful.”

The Raptors have spent the bulk of the past two months auditioning prospects at OVO Centre in Toronto, putting them through intense workouts and thorough interviews. It’s a helpful process, giving the organization a chance to get to know these young men better and see how they fare in a competitive environment run by their own staff. But it’s also not a prerequisite.

For various reasons, it can be challenging to get all the guys you’re interested in to make the trip. Players projected to go in the lottery may not be so inclined to visit a team with the 19th and 31st overall selections, for instance.

But what made this week’s draft unique – in addition to being considered one of the weakest rookie classes in recent memory – was its unpredictability. Nobody knew exactly what to expect, from the top – where French forward Zaccharie Risacher went first overall to Atlanta and his countryman Alex Sarr was taken second by Washington – to........

© TSN