Zan Tabak. Loren Woods. Jelani McCoy. Hakeem Olajuwon. Aron Baynes.
Khem Birch has all of 19 Toronto Raptors games under his belt, but is already a better player than the Opening Day starting centre in eight of the franchise’s 26 seasons (Tabak x3; McCoy x2)! Sean Woodley’s annual Ranking Every Raptor list would agree.
Before joining Toronto, Birch was viewed fondly as one of those free agent targets that would be nice to see in a Raptors uniform but not necessarily the player you’d break the bank for or prioritize above bigger, younger, more exciting prospects.