Athletic breakaway dunks, corner three-pointers, crafty drives to the basket, contested jumpers to beat the shot clock. Watching YouTube’s highlight reel from an April 5 D-League game between Raptors 905 and Canton provides a diverse sampling of what Axel Toupane is capable of offensively, at least on that level. The native of France erupted for 41 points in a playoff win for Toronto’s minor-league affiliate – then signed for the rest of the NBA season five days later with New Orleans.
Toupane, who logged a total of 41 minutes in the final two regular season games of 2016-17 for the Pelicans, will now try to stick in the majors permanently.