Most front-office execs are just that: front-office execs. But Masai Ujiri? He’s a bona fide folk hero. 

Since joining the Toronto Raptors as the team’s general manager in 2013, he’s woven himself into the city’s collective consciousness through his unflagging work on and off the court. Not only has he been one of the NBA’s most outspoken voices on social justice, the Nigeria native leads a basketball camp, Giants of Africa, that encourages young players in his home continent to dream big. He also secured the 6ix its first Larry O’Brien trophy in 2019, helping the city—and all of Canada—feel victory for the first time in ages. So you can understand why fans acted like they’d won another championship when Ujiri announced he was re-signing with the Raptors—as vice-chairman and president—earlier this summer.