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Toronto Raptors will soon be under new leadership. Masai Ujiri was dismissed as vice-president and president of the franchise, the team announced the day after the NBA draft.
Ujiri spent 13 seasons with the NBA franchise.
“During his 13 seasons with the Raptors, Masai helped transform the organization on the ground and was an inspiring leader,” said Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment CEO Keith Pelley, in a statement.
“He brought an NBA championship in Toronto and urged us to believe in this city and ourselves. We are grateful for everything he has done and wish him that his family.”
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Toronto Raptors president Masai Ujiri, before a match against Miami Heat in Scotiabank Arena in Toronto on February 21, 2025. (Images Kevin Sousa / Imagn)
While the long passage of Ujiri in the front office has ended abrupt, other key members of the front office have been preserved, including director general Bobby Webster. The team announced that Webster had obtained a contract extension.
Pelley expressed confidence in webster’s ability to direct raptors basketball operations.
“We are convinced that the Raptors organization, under the direction of Bobby and its team, is in an ideal place,” continued the press release. “They have a plan in place for next season and beyond when the team continues its reconstruction, and we have confidence in their ability to execute and, ultimately, to excel.”
Vice-president and president of Toronto Raptors, Masai Ujiri, speaks to the media in the Toronto scotia region on September 30, 2024. (John E. Sokolowski / Imagn Images)
On Friday, Pelley approached the moving calendar to separate from Ujiri, telling journalists that “over a month ago,” asked Ujiri to work on the project.
“Why the timing now? So, Masai and I spoke more than a month ago, and he asked that if a change was happening, it was after the dashboard,” Pelley told journalists on Friday. “And it made the most sense, not to disturb the process of process.
“We had the ninth choice, a top 10, and, of course, Masai – not only his field of passion, but his field of expertise – he is prolific with regard to the project. And we were grateful to have it as no one, with Bobby [Webster]leading our draft. “”
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While the Raptors are launching a search for a new president of the team, the other members of the Front Office will prepare for the free period of the NBA, which begins on Monday.
Toronto won only 30 games last season, and the team has qualified for the playoffs for three years.
President Masai Ujiri des Raptors de Toronto during the NBA 2025 recovery lottery on May 12, 2025 in Chicago. (Melissa Tamez / NBAE via Getty Images)
Ujiri won his first position as CEO of the NBA in 2011 when the Denver Nuggets selected it for the role. He was appointed director general of the Raptors in 2013. He received the honors of the league of the year this season.
He also supervised the 2019 Raptors NBA championship.
