Jamal Shead scored 13 points and added seven assists off the bench as the Toronto Raptors beat the Orlando Magic 129-99, while continuing a warmup conga tradition started by Garrett Temple.
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Jamal Shead has been carrying on a pre-game ritual with the Toronto Raptors that begins during warm-ups and is meant to build energy as the team heads into its matchup.
Before Toronto games, Shead starts bouncing and dancing during warm-ups, and the Raptors’ bench lines up behind him to join in. The group then breaks together and jogs forward, giving high fives to the team’s starters, coaches and other personnel as they get fired up for the game.
Shead said the tradition is “just fun, man. It gets us hype, gets us doing something before the game, and gets us talking to each other,” adding that “High fives, getting hand touches, and just getting ourselves prepared for the game.”
The warmup conga was started by veteran shooting guard Garrett Temple when he joined the Raptors for the 2023-24 season. After three seasons in Toronto, Temple retired as a player and became an assistant coach for Dallas Mavericks head coach Dusty May starting this campaign.
Shead said he took over the role when Temple was unavailable last year, and once Temple was gone this year, he knew he had to continue the tradition.
On Wednesday against the Orlando Magic, Shead’s on-court impact matched his leadership off it. Coming off the bench, he scored 13 points, recorded seven assists and added two steals as Toronto cruised to a 129-99 rout.
Raptors head coach Darko Rajakovic said the game shifted when Shead checked in, saying, “I thought that once Jamal Shead checked in, he changed the game,” and that the team followed its principles, including his defensive work and transition opportunities.
Scottie Barnes, who led Toronto with 28 points along with six rebounds and four assists, pinpointed the moment the momentum changed as Shead entered late in the second quarter. Barnes said the lead moved “from like around 10 to 17,” adding that Shead “did a great job being on ball, was getting steals, being active” and that “It just elevated everybody else.”
Toronto will play the Magic again at Scotiabank Arena on Friday in an NBA Cup game, with Rajakovic saying, “We take one game at a time,” and describing the matchup as “mini playoff series” material for learning and improvement.
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