海角社区官网

No matter what Quickley achieves as a professional athlete, the qualities he picked up all those years ago have set him up to be a caring, uplifting citizen.

鈥淚 think it鈥檚 essential that we raise our children to know that everyone matters and everyone is important,鈥� Quickley鈥檚 mother, Nitrease, said in an interview this week. 鈥淓verybody has a story, no matter your age. If you鈥檙e 25 in the prime of your life or if you鈥檙e 75 and served in the war, you have a story and you have something to give to the next generation.

鈥淚t鈥檚 essential to give back and to help somebody else.鈥�

With those traits as Quickley’s baseline, it鈥檚 not at all surprising that the new Raptors point guard is held in high esteem by his teammates and the organization that traded for the 24-year-old.

The Raptors value character as much as they value athletic ability. The due diligence on Quickley would have discovered he’s a young man of high moral fibre.

鈥淧robably one of the biggest things in life is helping someone else,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 something I learned from my mother. It was cool. Just to be able to take time out of your day to go show somebody else love is cool.鈥�

It is not surprising that Quickley has morphed into a well-rounded professional athlete. He won’t act more important than his teammates, and there’s no sense of entitlement.

鈥淗is positivity, his ability to be coached, to take criticism, you don鈥檛 see that in young guys, but real specifically, highly-touted young guys,鈥� Raptors teammate Garrett Temple said. 鈥淭hey come in the league and they know it all.

鈥淎 lot of it is how he was raised, I can tell. He鈥檚 a God-fearing man, he鈥檚 a really, really good guy and a great teammate because he listens. He鈥檚 humble and he plays with a joy about him that bleeds into everyone else.鈥�

Quickley has thrived since arriving from the New York Knicks along with RJ Barrett听颈苍 a late-December trade聽that sent OG Anunoby the other way. Immediately tossed into the starting lineup, the six-foot-three Quickley is averaging 18 points, 5.2 assists and 4.8 rebounds in 10 games, shooting 45 per cent from three-point range and 85 per cent on free throws.

His game is expanding 鈥� he鈥檚 got the same nice little floater in the lane many NBA guards do, a rather simple shot that is necessary in today鈥檚 game 鈥� and his responsibility is growing, too. He鈥檚 developing an instinctual style of play now that he鈥檚 playing starter鈥檚 minutes, after backing up Jalen Brunson in New York.

鈥淚t鈥檚 interesting, it鈥檚 very hard to play and think,鈥� Raptors coach Darko Rajakovic said. 鈥淵ou gotta just be a player out there and make quick decisions because the game is happening at such a quick pace.

鈥淲hen he does that, when he鈥檚 out there competing on a high level offensively and defensively, he does a lot of good things.鈥�

The deal with the Knicks has worked for both sides in the short run . 海角社区官网is 4-6 in 10 games with Quickley and Barrett, an underwhelming record but not bad for a team 10 games under .500 heading into Saturday at Madison Square Garden. Anunoby has re-energized the Knicks, 8-2 in their last 10, with his lockdown defence.

In the grand scheme of things, both teams got what they needed: The Raptors have a foundational piece to build around, the Knicks got an immediate boost.

League sources expect Quickley to sign a long-term contract extension with 海角社区官网in the summer that will cement him as one of the team鈥檚 leaders. What he has to do for the rest of this season is polish those leadership skills.

鈥淚 think the way I lead is just by action, doing things the right way each and every day, coming in early, showing people that I鈥檒l be the hardest worker, or one of the hardest workers,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 think people can gravitate toward people that work hard and earn what they get.鈥�

Maybe the most notable aspect of Quickley鈥檚 impact on the Raptors in less than a month is how he has imbued the team with a new sense of joy . Whether he鈥檚 high-fiving random front-row fans after a big play or skipping back down the court after making a three-pointer, there鈥檚 an infectious enthusiasm to the way he carries himself.

鈥淲e all feed off that,鈥� Temple said. 鈥淗im and Dennis (Schr枚der) have the same type of vibe, positivity, joy, that type of thing.

鈥淗e鈥檚 just a good person. It starts with that and the rest of that flows from him just having a good heart.鈥�

That goes back to the way Quickley was raised, the values he was taught, the experiences he had. He understands that gestures and personality count. If you want to lead, you have to know how to connect with people on a bigger level. It鈥檚 not all about dishing great passes or making big shots or the minutia of basketball.

鈥淚 always tell Immanuel, 鈥業f you don鈥檛 wash, you stink,鈥� 鈥� his mother said. 鈥淵ou鈥檙e no different than anybody else, you have to remember that we are people of character and how we treat others is everything,

鈥淚鈥檝e always taught my children: It鈥檚 not about you, it鈥檚 about how you can help somebody else, it鈥檚 about how you can empower somebody else.鈥�

Temple is 37 years old, a well-respected veteran of 14 NBA seasons. He has seen them come and go. Speak with him and you come away feeling there might be something special about Quickley.

鈥淣o sense of entitlement whatsoever,鈥� he said of his young teammate. 鈥淎s an older basketball player, I preach about being humble, having humility, not being entitled because the younger we get as a league, the more entitled we become.

鈥淪eeing a guy like him, as grounded as he is, makes me feel like we still have hope.鈥�

Like the residents of the seniors home, Quickley makes his teammates feel wanted, respected and cared for.