January 8.
It’s not a special day on the calendar. Memories of the holiday season have begun to fade. In a regular NBA season, early returns from All-Star voting start trickling in. For the Raptors, it’s the early part of what should be a long season. For Alex Len, it’s an early indicator of what ends up feeling like a long season!
Over the last five seasons, Len’s teams have had the following records:
2015-16: 23-59 (Suns)
2016-17: 24-58 (Suns)
2017-18: 21-61 (Suns)
2018-19: 29-53 (Hawks)
2019-20: 20-47 (Hawks, who he spent most of the season with before being traded to the Kings at the trade deadline)
Now, let’s take a look at when the Raptors achieved those win totals in their respective seasons:
2015-16: 56-26 (win #23 on Game 38, January 8)
2016-17: 51-31 (win #24 on Game 35, January 5)
2017-18: 59-23 (win #21 on Game 29, December 20)
2018-19: 58-24 (win #29 on Game 41, January 5)
2019-20: 53-19 (win #20 on Game 28, December 20)
Len’s teams have finished their respective seasons with a win total that Toronto would achieve no later than January 8!