Undrafted Raptors rookie has long way to go before making wild prediction come true

The undersized Nowell made a name for himself during the 2023 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, leading Kansas State to the Elite Eight with a phenomenal run of individual performances. 

After going undrafted, Nowell signed a two-way contract with Raptors in early July and has earned heavy praise this summer.

Having yet to take the court for a professional game of actual significance though, the 23-year-old's future plans are certainly ambitious, to say the least.

Even though Toronto is one of the newest NBA franchises (joining the league in 1995), the team has still been around longer than Nowell has even been alive, and they've had some stellar players represent the organization.

Among the best who spent a good portion of their respective careers with the Raptors include Chris Bosh (seven seasons), DeMar DeRozan (nine seasons) and Vince Carter (seven seasons). 

Bosh was elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2021 and Carter will without a doubt join him there once he is eligible, while DeRozan made four of his six All-Star teams while playing north of the border.

This group doesn't even include one of Nowell's new teammates in two-time All-Star Pascal Siakam and one of the recently departed Toronto players (2021-22 All-Star Fred VanVleet). 

Both Siakam and VanVleet joined the franchise at the start of their career in 2016 and were crucial in bringing the Raptors their first and only NBA title in 2019.

Then there's arguably the best point guard in Toronto history -- six-time All-Star Kyle Lowry -- who was also a member of the 2019 championship-winning squad and could someday be enshrined into the Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts. 

Lowry played nine seasons with the Raptors and is the franchise's all-leader in three-point field goals (1,518), assists (4,277), steals (873) and triple-doubles (16), while ranking second only behind DeRozan in points (10,540), games (601) and minutes played (20,813).

Nowell showed in the Wildcats' March Madness run that he's never going to lack for confidence, but he's got a long way to go before becoming an all-time Raptors great.