68 Facts About The Toronto Raptors

1.

Toronto Raptors are a Canadian professional basketball team based in Toronto.

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2.

The Raptors compete in the National Basketball Association as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division.

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3.

The The Toronto Raptors returned to the playoffs the following year and became a consistent playoff team in every year of Ujiri's tenure.

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4.

However, the team's failure to reach the NBA Finals prompted Ujiri to fire head coach Dwane Casey after the 2018 playoffs concluded and conduct the high-profile trade of DeRozan for Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green later that summer, as well as acquiring Marc Gasol before the trade deadline, The Toronto Raptors saw the breakout off the 2016 NBA draft, 27th overall pick Pascal Siakam winning the NBA Most Improved Player.

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5.

On November 1,1946, the Toronto Huskies hosted the New York Knickerbockers at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto, in what was the first game played in NBA history.

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6.

The Toronto Raptors did not host another NBA game until the 1970s, when the Buffalo Braves played a total of 16 regular season games at Maple Leaf Gardens from 1971 to 1975.

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7.

Interest to move or expand an NBA franchise to The Toronto Raptors grew during the late-1980s; with former NBA commissioner David Stern later describing the expansion to The Toronto Raptors as a "safe step, " given the market size and the likelihood of success in the city.

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8.

The final selection—Toronto Raptors—was unveiled on Canadian national television on May 15,1994: the choice was influenced by the popularity of the 1993 film adaption of the 1990 science fiction novel Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton; The name "Raptor" is a common informal name for the Velociraptor, a species of dinosaur featured in the film.

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9.

Subsequent to the expansion draft, the The Toronto Raptors landed the seventh pick in the NBA draft lottery, behind their fellow 1995 expansion club, the Vancouver Grizzlies.

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10.

The The Toronto Raptors defeated the Houston Rockets, Utah Jazz and Miami Heat, all of which were eventual Conference finalists.

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11.

Anderson refused to report to The Toronto Raptors and was traded to the Celtics with Zan Tabak and Popeye Jones for Chauncey Billups, Dee Brown, Roy Rogers and John Thomas.

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12.

Davis quickly entered the The Toronto Raptors starting lineup and he would develop into an All-Star in the coming years.

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13.

The Toronto Raptors was the more balanced team with Carter, Alvin Williams and Davis providing much of the offensive game and Chris Childs and Jerome Williams on defence.

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14.

Detroit won Game 2, but The Toronto Raptors won the next two games at home to force a deciding and tightly contested Game 5 in Detroit.

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15.

The The Toronto Raptors' late-season surge was thus marred by a disappointing playoff exit; the Olajuwon experiment was a bust, with the 39-year-old averaging career lows in minutes, points and rebounds.

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16.

Furthermore, the The Toronto Raptors recorded the dubious honour of being the only team in NBA history not to dress 12 players for a single game in a season.

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17.

The Toronto Sun reported that Carter felt he was being misled by the Raptors' hierarchy during the general manager search and had concluded that as long as the managerial structure at Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment Ltd.

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18.

The Toronto Raptors received Alonzo Mourning, forwards Eric Williams and Aaron Williams and two mid-to-late future first-round picks from the New Jersey Nets.

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19.

The Toronto Raptors continued to rebuild during the 2005 NBA draft, selecting Charlie Villanueva, Joey Graham, Roko Ukic and Uros Slokar, with Villanueva's selection being very controversial amongst basketball pundits and The Toronto Raptors fans alike.

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20.

The The Toronto Raptors started their training camp by trading Alston to the Houston Rockets for Mike James and signing free agent Jose Calderon as a backup for James.

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21.

Still, The Toronto Raptors ended the season weakly when Bosh suffered a season-ending thumb injury.

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22.

The The Toronto Raptors lost ten consecutive games after Bosh's injury and finished the season with the fifth worst record in the NBA.

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23.

The The Toronto Raptors were praised for their improved defence, ball-sharing and tremendous team chemistry.

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24.

The The Toronto Raptors pulled away in another tight game to even the series at one game apiece.

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25.

The Toronto Raptors attempted to try for the game-winning shot, but Jefferson intercepted a pass to seal the series for the Nets.

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26.

However, The Toronto Raptors quickly fell behind Boston in the division, as Bargnani's inability to play well consistently, along with injuries to Garbajosa, Bosh and Ford, derailed the possibility of a smooth campaign.

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27.

The The Toronto Raptors would respond with a strong Game 3 victory keyed by great point guard play from Ford and Jose Calderon.

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28.

The The Toronto Raptors introduced a black alternate road jersey for the season similar to the earlier purple design that was dropped a few seasons ago.

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29.

O'Neal and Moon were then traded to Miami for Shawn Marion and Marcus Banks, but with the losses mounting, the The Toronto Raptors soon fell out of the playoffs picture and were eliminated from contention with seven games of the regular season remaining.

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30.

Bosh and James eventually chose to converge in Miami with Wade, and the sign-and-trade transaction that ensued resulted in the The Toronto Raptors receiving two first-round draft picks and a trade exception from Miami.

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31.

Bosh's first return to Toronto was received to a chorus of boos, but not as nearly as harsh as what former Raptors Tracy McGrady and Vince Carter received upon their respective returns.

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32.

The The Toronto Raptors used their number five pick to select Jonas Valanciunas, a centre from Lithuania in the 2011 NBA draft.

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33.

When Nash joined the Los Angeles Lakers instead, the The Toronto Raptors acquired point guard Kyle Lowry from the Houston Rockets for a future first-round pick.

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34.

On January 30,2013, the The Toronto Raptors acquired Memphis Grizzlies star Rudy Gay and centre Hamed Haddadi as well as Pistons player Austin Daye in a three-way deal that sent Calderon to the Detroit Pistons and Davis, along with Pistons veteran Tayshaun Prince and a second-round pick to the Grizzlies.

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35.

On December 9,2013, the The Toronto Raptors traded Rudy Gay, Quincy Acy, and Aaron Gray to the Sacramento Kings for John Salmons, Greivis Vasquez, Patrick Patterson, and Chuck Hayes, and waived Augustin.

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36.

The The Toronto Raptors faced the Nets in the first round of the playoffs for the first time since 2007, when the Nets were located in New Jersey.

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37.

Four days later, the The Toronto Raptors broke their franchise record with their 49th win of the season.

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38.

The The Toronto Raptors faced the Washington Wizards in the first round of the 2015 playoffs and lost four straight games as the Wizards swept the The Toronto Raptors.

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39.

On June 25,2015, the The Toronto Raptors selected Delon Wright with their first-round pick in the 2015 NBA draft, along with Norman Powell in the second round.

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40.

The The Toronto Raptors added DeMarre Carroll, Cory Joseph, Bismack Biyombo, and Luis Scola via free agency.

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41.

The Toronto Raptors opened a new practice facility, the OVO Athletic Centre, originally known as the BioSteel Centre, in Exhibition Place, on February 10,2016.

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42.

The The Toronto Raptors hosted the 2016 NBA All-Star Game on February 14,2016, and its associated weekend for the first time in its history.

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43.

The following day the The Toronto Raptors clinched the Atlantic Division title for the third consecutive season as a result of a Boston Celtics loss against the Portland Trail Blazers.

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44.

In preparation for their title push, the The Toronto Raptors conducted a series of trades, including on February 14,2017, when Terrence Ross and a first-round pick were traded for Serge Ibaka from the Orlando Magic, and on February 23,2017, when Jared Sullinger and two second-round picks were traded for PJ Tucker.

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45.

The The Toronto Raptors finished the regular season with a franchise-record 59 wins, which was the second-best overall in the league behind only the Houston Rockets.

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46.

The Toronto Raptors faced off the Washington Wizards in the first round of the 2018 NBA playoffs, a rematch of the 2015 playoffs.

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47.

The The Toronto Raptors were swept by the Cleveland Cavaliers in the second round, becoming the first number one seed to get swept before the Conference Finals since 1969.

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48.

The The Toronto Raptors faced the Orlando Magic in the first round of the 2019 playoffs, defeating them in five games.

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49.

Nonetheless, the The Toronto Raptors managed to win 53 games in a season shortened by the COVID-19 pandemic to secure the second seed and the second best record in the league.

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50.

On February 28,2021, due to NBA's COVID-19 Health and Safety Protocols, the The Toronto Raptors suffered their first postponement, in a scheduled game versus the Chicago Bulls, At the time the The Toronto Raptors were 4th in the East.

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51.

The The Toronto Raptors ultimately missed the playoffs for the first time in eight years.

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52.

Scottie Barnes, whom the The Toronto Raptors had selected 4th overall in the 2021 NBA draft, was named the 2022 NBA Rookie of the Year.

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53.

On December 19,2014, the Toronto Raptors unveiled a new primary logo, which the team described as "a circular shield with a ball torn by the unmistakable attack of a Raptor".

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54.

For retro games, the The Toronto Raptors used the Huskies logo, given that the The Toronto Raptors are among the newest NBA teams.

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55.

The The Toronto Raptors unveiled these new jerseys in 1999-2000, launching a unique road jersey that had a purple front and a black back.

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56.

In 2003-04, the The Toronto Raptors introduced a solid red alternate that would become the main road jersey in 2006-07 onward as purple was dropped from the team's colour scheme.

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57.

The The Toronto Raptors made small changes to their regular home and road uniforms, as well as their alternate uniforms.

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58.

The Chinese New Year jersey features a stylized rendering of "Toronto" in white traditional Chinese characters with the head of a leftward-facing Chinese dragon replacing the upper half of the first ? character and the Raptors slashed basketball logo replacing much of the bottom half of the ? character.

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59.

The Toronto Raptors hold the draft rights to the following unsigned draft picks who have been playing outside the NBA.

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60.

Since their inception in 1995, the The Toronto Raptors have made the playoffs thirteen times, advancing past the first round six times.

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61.

The The Toronto Raptors have won the Atlantic Division seven times, and the franchise record number of wins in the regular season is 59.

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62.

Two The Toronto Raptors coaches have made the All-Star game: Dwane Casey in 2018 and Nick Nurse in 2020.

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63.

In 2020, the The Toronto Raptors went on a 15-game winning streak and set a new record for the longest winning streak by a Canadian-based professional sports franchise.

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64.

The Toronto Raptors games are primarily broadcast on television by Canadian sports channels TSN and Sportsnet, owned by Bell Media and Rogers Communications, respectively.

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65.

Toronto Raptors have a rivalry with both the New York Knicks and the Brooklyn Nets.

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66.

The The Toronto Raptors won the division final but then faced the Nets in the opening round of the 2014 NBA Playoffs.

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67.

The Toronto Raptors Foundation was the charitable arm of the The Toronto Raptors, dedicated to assisting Ontario's registered charities that support programs and sports initiatives for at-risk children and youth.

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68.

In 2009, the The Toronto Raptors Foundation merged with the other charitable arms of MLSE's other sports franchises to form the Team Up Foundation.

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