Murray-Boyles Shakes Head, Appears to Drop F-Bomb After Raptors Draft Him

The 2025 NBA Draft delivered drama, disappointment, and—for Raptors fans—a sobering gut-check about the state of the franchise. While the Dallas Mavericks walked away with the crown jewel in Cooper Flagg, the consensus No. 1 pick, Toronto found itself with a solid but far less glamorous selection at No. 9. And then came the moment that will define headlines north of the border: Collin Murray-Boyles didn’t smile. He didn’t celebrate. In fact, he looked downright pissed.

For a franchise that’s already reeling from years of mediocrity and post-championship identity loss, that’s not the kind of energy you want on draft night.

Let’s break it down.

There was no surprise at the top. Cooper Flagg, the Duke standout and generational talent, was taken No. 1 overall by the Dallas Mavericks. It was a lucky lottery win for a team looking to move into its next chapter. With Luka Doncic’s traded to the Lakerss Flagg gives Dallas something to build around: a versatile two-way forward with sky-high basketball IQ, defensive tenacity, and alpha energy. He averaged 19.2 points and nearly 8 rebounds a game at Duke and was widely seen as the only franchise-changing prospect in this draft class.

Toronto never had a realistic shot unless they mortgaged their future in a trade—but they didn’t.

At No. 9, the Toronto Raptors selected Collin Murray-Boyles, a rugged forward from South Carolina with a 7-foot wingspan and a grinder mentality. The pick makes sense on paper. He’s switchable, defends multiple positions, and has the potential to develop into a strong role player, maybe even a starter. But that’s not what has people talking.

When his name was called, Murray-Boyles looked shell-shocked—and not in a good way. While other draftees embraced their families, smiled wide, and shed tears of joy, Murray-Boyles looked like he’d just been drafted into a prison sentence. And then, on the broadcast, as the camera zoomed in on his face, he appeared to mouth a single, unmistakable word: “F*.”**

Now, lip-reading isn’t an exact science. Maybe he was muttering something else, or maybe it was just the heat of the moment. But it’s hard to ignore the optics: a visibly frustrated player, on the biggest night of his life, looking devastated to be picked by Toronto.

This isn’t a good sign—not for him, and not for the Raptors.

Let’s be honest. The Toronto Raptors haven’t exactly been a destination team since Kawhi Leonard left. The 2019 championship seems like ancient history. The front office is in flux, the roster is in a perpetual rebuild, and fan confidence is slipping.

When your top-10 pick reacts to being drafted like it’s a punishment, that says a lot about how players perceive your organization. Whether it’s the Canadian taxes, the cold winters, or the lack of national exposure in the U.S., there’s a real stigma brewing—and moments like this don’t help.

Murray-Boyles may grow into his role. He might become a fan favorite. He might even come to love the city, the team, and the culture. But that’s a lot of “maybes.” What Raptors fans got last night wasn’t a new hope—it was a reminder that even when you draft decently, you can still lose in the optics game.

And for a team in desperate need of momentum, of belief, of swagger—that hurts.

Toronto didn’t get Cooper Flagg. They didn’t even get a happy draftee. What they got was a defensive specialist who looked disgusted to join the team. The front office may be telling fans to “trust the process,” but based on what we saw on that draft stage, the process might already be broken.

Toronto, wake up. The rest of the league is watching.