Toronto Raptors

The Toronto Raptors are Canada's lone NBA franchise, a team that went from expansion afterthought to championship glory. Founded in 1995 alongside the Vancouver Grizzlies, the Raptors play at Scotiabank Arena in downtown Toronto, sharing the building with the NHL's Maple Leafs. After the Grizzlies moved to Memphis in 2001, the Raptors became Canada's only NBA team, carrying the nation's basketball hopes.

Early years were rough, but the 1998 draft-day trade for Vince Carter changed everything. Carter's high-flying dunks electrified the league, setting attendance records and leading the Raptors to their first playoff series win in 2001. After Carter's departure, Chris Bosh took over, but the team struggled to build around him. A new era began in 2013 when Masai Ujiri became general manager. He built around DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry, turning the Raptors into perennial playoff contenders. Yet they couldn't break through, losing to LeBron James year after year.

Ujiri made bold moves in 2018, trading DeRozan for Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green. The gamble paid off spectacularly. In 2019, the Raptors won their first NBA championship, defeating the Golden State Warriors in six games. Leonard left that summer, but the team remained competitive behind Pascal Siakam and Lowry. After Lowry's trade in 2021 and Siakam's in 2024, the franchise now turns to young star Scottie Barnes.[edit]

The Raptors entered the NBA in 1995 as part of a Canadian expansion. Their first home was the SkyDome, a cavernous baseball stadium that made for poor sightlines. In 1999, they moved into the Air Canada Centre, now Scotiabank Arena. The team name came from a fan contest, inspired by the film Jurassic Park. Early seasons were losing ones, but the arrival of Vince Carter in 1998 transformed the franchise. Carter's 2000 Slam Dunk Contest victory remains one of the most memorable moments in league history.

The 2000s saw the team make the playoffs sporadically, with Chris Bosh emerging as a star. But the franchise never advanced past the first round until 2016, when the Kyle Lowry-DeMar DeRozan core reached the Eastern Conference Finals, losing to the Cleveland Cavaliers. The team's identity shifted under coach Dwane Casey, who emphasized defense and three-point shooting. Casey won Coach of the Year in 2018, but was fired after another playoff loss to Cleveland.

Masai Ujiri's decision to trade DeRozan for Kawhi Leonard in 2018 was a seismic move. Leonard, a former Finals MVP, had one year left on his contract. The Raptors built a deep roster around him, adding Marc Gasol at the trade deadline. In the playoffs, they survived a seven-game series against the 76ers, capped by Leonard's Game 7 buzzer-beater, the first in NBA history. They then swept the Bucks after falling behind 2-0, and defeated the Warriors in six games to win the title.

After Leonard's departure, the Raptors remained competitive, posting a 53-19 record in the pandemic-shortened 2019-20 season, but lost in the second round. The team gradually declined as Lowry aged and Siakam struggled to lead. In 2023-24, the Raptors traded Siakam and OG Anunoby, fully committing to a rebuild around Scottie Barnes, the 2022 Rookie of the Year.[edit]