Toronto Raptors president of basketball operations Masai Ujiri claimed in legal papers Thursday it was he who was assaulted by a security guard after his team won the NBA Finals last year, not the other way around as the sheriff’s deputy alleged.



Ujiri’s contention came in his legal response to Alan Strickland’s litigation, which claims Ujiri hit him trying to access the court after the final buzzer in Game 6 that ended the season on June 13, 2019. Strickland also sued the NBA, which contended as well in its response that the security guard was the aggressor.



“Plaintiffs’ injuries, if any, were caused by Plaintiffs’ own aggressive acts and reasonable and justified acts in self-defense resulting directly from Plaintiffs’ aggression,” the NBA responded.



Ujiri’s separate response claimed, “As Mr. Ujiri attempted to enter the court, Mr. Strickland assaulted him, forcefully shoving him back once and then...