Raptors players have been shouting Toronto slang at each other

The Toronto Raptors may not have won all that many games this season, but they’re making sure they’re having a good time when they do.

On Monday, Toronto picked up just their 22nd win of the season in 65 tries, as they currently sit 13th in the Eastern Conference standings.

And a good chunk of the team’s offence came from an unlikely source last night, with 24-year-old Toronto native A.J. Lawson putting up a career-high 32 points while coming off the bench against the Washington Wizards.

“I’ve been dreaming about this, who knows how long since I first touched the basketball… It just means everything, for the city, for the family, for the country,” Lawson said postgame. “I just felt like every shot I was gonna shoot was gonna go in. I just showed the confidence in myself. I mean, I’m not gonna get down if I miss a couple in a row. Keep shooting.”

Lawson’s previous career high was 17 points, achieved last season with the Dallas Mavericks.

In the locker room postgame, loud cheers could be heard when the team gave Lawson the Raptors chain as their hand-picked player of the game.

Lawson told reporters that his teammates were shouting some “Toronto slang” at him when he got the chain, as they were “giving the Toronto culture some love.”

Sportsnet’s Savanna Hamilton later confirmed that team members were yelling “real bodmon” to Lawson in the locker room, a Jamaican patois version of “bad man.”

It appears that “bodmon” (or “badmon”) has become a bit of an internal rally cry for these Raptors when one of their players has a big game; the team also shouted the same slang term at RJ Barrett after a win over the Orlando Magic last week.

Amazingly, Lawson and Barrett used to be teammates while growing up in the GTA together.

“It’s like a full circle moment. We’ve been playing together since middle school… what a blessing,” Lawson said. “The odds of that happening [are] rare. Just to live in the moment, be grateful for the moment. Just keep working hard. We’re both hard workers, and it’s gonna be many more moments to come.”