57 Facts About Toronto Raptors

1.

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

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2.

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

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3.

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.

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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5.

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

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6.

Subsequent to the expansion draft, 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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7.

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

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8.

Anderson refused to report to 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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9.

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

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10.

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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11.

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

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12.

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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13.

Furthermore, 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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14.

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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15.

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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16.

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 Toronto Raptors fans alike.

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17.

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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18.

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

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19.

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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20.

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

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21.

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

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22.

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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23.

However, 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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24.

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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25.

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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26.

O'Neal and Moon were then traded to Miami for Shawn Marion and Marcus Banks, but with the losses mounting, 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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27.

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

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28.

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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29.

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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30.

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

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31.

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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32.

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

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33.

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 Toronto Raptors.

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34.

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

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35.

The following day 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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36.

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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37.

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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38.

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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39.

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

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40.

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

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41.

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

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42.

Scottie Barnes, whom 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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43.

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

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44.

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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45.

In 2003-04, 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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46.

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

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47.

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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48.

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

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49.

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

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50.

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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51.

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

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52.

In 2020, 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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53.

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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54.

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

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55.

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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56.

Toronto Raptors Foundation was the charitable arm of 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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57.

In 2009, 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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