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The Toronto Raptors are a National
Basketball Association team based in Toronto,
Ontario. They are currently the only NBA team
based outside of the United
States. The team is owned by Maple
Leaf Sports & Entertainment Ltd.
Home arenas
- Skydome
(1995-1999)
- Air
Canada Centre (1999-present)
Today
At present, the Toronto Raptors
have a solid, but success-starved fan base. Despite
having only won one playoff series in franchise
history, the Raptors continue to draw attendances
in the top half of the NBA. The team has struggled
especially after the trading away of Vince
Carter, in which the team received relatively
little in return.
Chris
Bosh, a budding superstar center/power
forward is currently the face of the Raptors.
Bosh is currently in his third season with the team,
with a team option for a fourth year and the right
to match any offer before his fifth (as he is a
restricted free agent after his fourth year). Bosh
has the option of signing a one-year qualifying
offer in his fifth season, at which point he would
become an unrestricted
free agent.
The Raptors 2005-2006 season has
thus far been viewed as a disappointment. After
losing the first nine games of the 2005-2006 season,
and fifteen out of sixteen overall, Toronto's difficulties
continued when the team gave up an 18 point lead
to the Los
Angeles Lakers in a January
22, 2006
game, and allowed Laker star Kobe
Bryant to score 81 points, second highest one
game total in NBA history.
On January
26, 2006, the Raptors fired G.M. Rob
Babcock, and replaced him with interim G.M.
Wayne
Embry.
On February
27th, 2006
the Toronto Raptors named former Phoenix
Suns General Manager and President Bryan
Colangelo the President and General Manager
of the Raptors. It only took one month to find a
suitable replacement for Rob Babcock as General
Manager.
Franchise History (By Seasons)
1995-96
After Isiah
Thomas was named the general manager in 1995,
he quickly staffed the management with his own personnel,
including the first head coach Brendan
Malone (who was later reunited with Thomas in
the Knicks
organization in 2003). During the summer of 1995,
the league had an expansion draft to fill out the
rosters of the new Toronto Raptors and Vancouver
Grizzlies. As a result of a coin flip, the Raptors
had the first pick of the expansion draft, and selected
Chicago
Bulls point-guard and 3-point specialist BJ
Armstrong. In a move that would seem to be a
constant theme throughout Toronto's early days,
BJ threatened not to come to camp and Isiah Thomas
promptly moved him. Thomas selected a wide range
of players in the expansion draft, including veterans
Jerome
Kersey, Willie
Anderson and John
"spider" Salley.
Thomas chose to build the franchise
around Damon
Stoudamire, a point guard out of Arizona.
The Raptors' selection of Stoudamire was met with
boos from those present at the 1995
NBA Draft at SkyDome
in Toronto, many of whom bought into the hype surrounding
UCLA
star Ed
O'Bannon. However, Stoudamire proved to be the
one bright point in a terrible first season as he
won Rookie
of the Year honours by averaging 19 points and
9.3 assists per game. This team will also be known
for beating the 72-10 Bulls despite being a first-year
franchise.
Record: 21 Wins - 61 Losses
1996-97
The team's win record improved by
nine games from its inaugural season and attendance
was rising. Analysts predicted a playoff-contending
or even a championship caliber team in a matter
of a few seasons. Marcus
Camby who was drafted second overall in the
1996
NBA Draft by the Raptors had a disappointing
rookie season.
Record: 30 Wins - 52 Losses
1997-98
All optimism evaporated when the
team was hit by numerous injuries in early 1997-1998
season. Thomas, a brilliant player and skilled evaluator
of talent but lacking in management skills, failed
to stop the downfall of the team which led to the
dismantling of the core players and resignations
of the head coach Darrell Walker and eventually
of Thomas himself. When Glen
Grunwald was named to succeed Thomas in 1998,
virtually nobody thought he could turn the team
around, demonstrated by the booing from the crowd
when he made his first appearance to Maple
Leaf Gardens for a speech. However, the players
reacted by playing harder and Marcus Camby earned
the first two triple
doubles of his career in the last four games
of the season. Isiah Thomas made a great first pick
in selecting Tracy
McGrady 9th overall in the 1997
NBA Draft.
Record: 16 Wins - 66 Losses
1998-99
Grunwald showed his better management
ability than his predecessor by trading Camby to
the Knicks
for proven veteran Charles
Oakley, whose tough mentality and playoff experience
helped the maturity of the young players. Many thought
the trade would hurt the team, since he was trading
away a promising prospect for an aging veteran.
However, Oakley's leadership proved crucial to the
success of the 1998-1999 Raptors. The coaching staff
temporarily solved the lack of a true point guard
by rotating Dee
Brown, Alvin
Williams and Doug
Christie to play the position. This was an excellent
move, as Christie greatly refined his defensive
game and became one of the elite defenders in NBA.
Alvin also showed improvement, on the offensive
end. Kevin
Willis, another veteran acquired from trade,
solidified the center position. With those two holes
temporarily filled, the team won more games than
ever before. The new coach Butch
Carter, besides doing an excellent coaching
job, also helped develop the young players on the
team, especially future All-Star Tracy
McGrady. Although the team did not make the
playoffs, many were optimistic with the brilliant
performances from the Rookie of the Year Vince
Carter and a much improved McGrady.
Record: 23 Wins - 27 Losses (a shortened
50-game schedule)
1999-2000
Grunwald decided that the solution
to the Raptors' lack of a true point guard and a
strong front court presence would have to come from
mature veteran players. He also knew that the aging
Willis and Oakley would eventually have to play
fewer minutes or risk injury. Thus, during the 1999
draft, he decided to trade first-round draft pick
Jonathan
Bender for veteran power
forward Antonio
Davis from the Indiana
Pacers, who had been forced to play off the
bench behind teammate Dale
Davis. In the backcourt, Butch Carter rotated
Carter, Christie, Williams and Dell
Curry at the shooting guard position and Williams
and Muggsy
Bogues at point guard. Rotation of Antonio,
Oakley and Willis in the front court and the maturation
of both Carter and McGrady helped the team make
its first ever playoff appearance. However, without
significant playoff experience, the Raptors were
swept by the New
York Knicks in the playoffs.
Progressive team improvements and
the rise to fame of Vince
Carter attracted many fans around Toronto, many
of whom were not previously basketball fans. Increased
attendance and change of fan base also helped contribute
to the decline of the Toronto
Blue Jays. This was also the first full season
at the Air
Canada Centre, after four years of games at
the cavernous SkyDome.
Record: 45 Wins - 37 Losses; eliminated
in the first round of the playoffs
2000-01
Playoff failures (and Carter's media
altercations surrounding Marcus Camby) led Grunwald
to replace Butch Carter with Lenny
Wilkens, who was a Hall-of-Fame coach and player
with more than 30 years of coaching experience.
In addition, the team finally found a true point
guard, when Grunwald signed veteran playmaker Mark
Jackson to a 4-year deal with the team. The
season marked the development of Alvin Williams
as a clutch performer. He scored three quarters
of his points in the 4th quarter during regular
season. Jackson was later traded to give more minutes
for Williams.
As Vince Carter familarised himself
with the shooting guard position and played less
time at small
forward, Christie became expendable and was
traded for forward Corliss
Williamson. However, he was a disappointment
and was traded during the season for defensive workhorse
Jerome
Williams. The loss of former star small forward
Tracy McGrady was also a factor in the Williamson
trade. Although McGrady and Carter showed impressive
improvement at the same time, much of the media
and fan attention was focused on Carter, who dunked
more often and thus was more entertaining to fans.
Furthermore, McGrady's natural position is at small
forward, the same position as Carter. Therefore,
Raptors management decided to trade McGrady to the
Magic
during the 2000 offseason for a first-round draft
pick in a sign-and-trade deal.
As predicted by analysts, the team
clinched a playoff berth without much difficulty.
Toronto beat New York in the first round. Wilkens
was credited for having Williams defend shooting
guard Allan
Houston and Carter defend small forward Latrell
Sprewell, the two major offensive threats of
the Knicks.
In addition, Charles Oakley's remarks incited Vince
to "play it like a man", and steady contribution
from Antonio Davis prevailed over the less-focused
Knicks. The Raptors were also lucky, as Larry
Johnson was shut down by a career-ending injury
and Marcus Camby was plagued by his family kidnap.
The next series against the Philadelphia
76ers was a landmark of exciting, entertaining
play, and the best playoff performance by the Raptors
so far. The Sixers relied on Allen
Iverson and Dikembe
Mutombo for their respective offensive and defensive
abilities, along with steady help from Aaron
McKie and other teammates. Toronto's was much
more balanced with Carter, Williams and Davis providing
much of the offensive game and Chris
Childs and Jerome Williams providing the defensive
pressure. Philadelphia took full advantage of its
mismatch at center whereas Toronto counteracted
with a fast-break offense with their shorter but
quicker players. The series came down to the last
4 seconds of Game 7, when Vince Carter narrowly
missed a fadeaway jumper hitting the back rim, losing
the series by 1 point. Despite the loss, the season
is generally considered the high water mark for
the franchise.
Record: 47 Wins - 35 Losses; eliminated
in the second round of the playoffs
2001-02
The Raptors' exciting playoff performance
attracted even more fans and put unprecendented
trust from the owners on Grunwald. In an attempt
to satisfy Vince Carter so that he would re-sign
with the team, long-term contracts were given to
Alvin Williams, Jerome Williams and Davis, and former
All-Star center Hakeem
Olajuwon was signed, to provide Carter with
a good supporting cast. Although the team was guaranteed
a powerful starting line-up for one season, it was
a dangerous gamble as overall player salary almost
reached the cap, making significant free-agent signing
impossible. Expiring contracts had also been traded
away, so unless the Raptors succeeded with their
2001-2002 lineup, it was unlikely they would remain
a very competitive team.
The first half of the season ran
well with expected contributions from the starters
and the improvement Morris Peterson and Keon Clark.
In spite of an injury to Antonio Davis in January
and a subsequent injury to Carter, the team made
a record comeback to clinch a playoff berth.
However, the injuries to Davis and
Carter were highlighted in the 3-2 series loss to
the Detroit
Pistons. Ben
Wallace and Jerry
Stackhouse's performances overwhelmed the offensively-limited
Raptors.
Record: 42 Wins - 40 Losses; eliminated
in the first round of the playoffs
2002-03
The 2002-03 season began with the
same optimisim that the Raptors furnished in three
straight playoff appearances. However, right from
the beginning of the season that optimism was lost:
Carter went through a series of injuries, Davis
started to express disinterest in Toronto (reportedly
because his wife could not land a TV job in Toronto)
and Wilkens' laissez-fair attitude created a team
that lacked the motivation and spirit of the previous
years' teams. Pretty much the entire team was ravaged
by the injury bug, as they lost an NBA record number
of player games due to injury, and that was another
main reason. Almost right from day one, the Toronto
media went straight for the jugular when it came
to Wilkens, chastizing him for his inability- or,
perhaps, unwillingness- to really clamp down on
his players when he had to (The
Toronto Star's Dave
Perkins once wrote that all Wilkens could do
during a game where the Raptors self-destructed
was sit and stand, instead of yelling at his players
like Perkins says he should have been doing). This
was the year that Wilkens overtook Bill
Fitch for the lead in most losses by a NBA coach,
with his loss total getting dangerously close to
his win total. At the end of the disastrous season
(a year marred by defensive breakdowns that still
occur today), Wilkens was unceremoniously dumped,
ending a three-year stint with the team that started
with so much promise but ended with too much disappointment.
Record: 24 Wins - 58 Losses
2003-04
The Raptors were inconsistent throughout
03-04, partly due to injuries to key players Jalen
Rose, Alvin
Williams and Vince
Carter, with Davis traded early in the season
for Rose. After 50 games, though, they were 25-25
and in position to make the playoffs. The team then
suffered through a nine-game losing streak in February,
dealing them a serious blow in the standings. With
eight games to go in the regular season, the Raptors
fired Glen
Grunwald, the general manager on April 1. Grunwald
had been the GM since 1997. The Raptors finished
up the season 3 games out of the eighth and final
playoff spot. The star individual performers were
Carter, with 22.5 points per game, Donyell
Marshall, who led the team with 10.7 rebounds
per game, and rookie Chris
Bosh, a 6-10 forward-center who averaged 11.5
ppg and 7.4 rpg and was named to the rookie all-star
team.
Immediately following the season,
on April 17, head coach Kevin
O'Neill was fired after making some remarks
which were taken to question the team's commitment
to winning. He was replaced with Sam
Mitchell, a former NBA forward
who had been an assistant coach of the Milwaukee
Bucks the previous two seasons. Rob
Babcock was named general manager on June 7,
2004.
Record: 33 Wins - 49 Losses;10th
in the Eastern Conference
2004-05
With new GM, Rob
Babcock, new assistant general manager, hall
of fame ex-general manager and player Wayne
Embry, new director of player personnel, Alex
English, and head coach Sam
Mitchell, it was evident that restructuring
of the organization was in operation. Soon after,
franchise player Vince
Carter, demanded a trade during the off season.
Thus, much of the 2004-2005 season's action played
itself out off the court.
The eventual trade of Carter finally
came to fruition mid-season, ending his seven-year
tenure with the team. Later in the year Carter admitted
to half-hearted on court performances, forcing GM
to trade him. From that deal, the Raptors received
former All-Star
Alonzo
Mourning, forwards Eric
Williams and Aaron
Williams, and two mid-to-late future first round
picks from the New
Jersey Nets (Joey
Graham, picked 16th overall in the 2005
NBA Draft). Mourning chose to not report to
Toronto, forcing Babcock to buy out the remainder
of his contract at a reported $10 million, leaving
Mourning free to sign with the Miami
Heat, where he had spent seven years of his
career prior. The two Williamses were believed to
be able to add defensive toughness and rebounding;
however, they saw few minutes, and were generally
under-utilized for the entire season. Many believe
that first year GM Babcock got the bad end of the
deal to Nets President of Basketball Operations,
Rod
Thorn's, and there were calls from Raptors fans
for Babcock to step down.
After the Carter trade, Chris
Bosh stepped up to take the helm of franchise
player, and performed admirably in his sophomore
campaign; he ranked tenth in defensive rebounds
for the season. Apart from Bosh's emergence, the
restructuring looked to take a bit of a hit with
rookie 8th first round draft pick, Rafael
Araújo, struggling to keep a spot in the line-up
during the Raptors' half-hearted run for a playoff
spot during the last month of the season.
Veterans Jalen
Rose and Donyell
Marshall also shined on an otherwise lackluster
team. There was much speculation that Marshall would
be traded before the trade deadline since he was
up for free agency in the up coming season. However,
Babcock held on to Marshall, a move which many believe
helped create an identity crisis for the Raptors,
after clearly being unwilling to commit to rebuilding
or winning. Marshall would eventually have a good
finish to his 2004-2005 campaign, hitting 12 three-pointers
versus the 76ers on March 13, 2005, tying an NBA
record.
The Raptors' inability to win on
the road (11-30) and generally poor defense made
Sam
Mitchell's first year as head coach unimpressive.
However, the home fans were generally entertained
as the team managed to thrive off the often well
attended Air
Canada Centre putting up a record of 22-19 at
home. Coach Mitchell was also mired in controversies
off the court. Of note, point guard Rafer
Alston in a post-game interview contemplated
retiring after a tough loss, as he continued to
butt heads with Mitchell. Later in the season, Alston
was suspended two games for "conduct detrimental
to the team" for reportedly walking out of a scrimmage
practice. In addition, Eric Williams requested a
trade, unhappy with the lack of minutes he was receiving.
Vince
Carter's mother also made comments to the media
about an alleged "wrestling match" that took place
in the locker room between the coach and her son
prior to his departure. Currently, the team's only
potential All-Star is Chris
Bosh, as he is shaping up to be one of the Eastern
Conference's better Center/Power Forward players.
Record: 33 Wins - 49 Losses; 4th
in Atlantic Division, 11th in Eastern
Conference
2005-06
The Raptors entered the 2005
NBA Draft with two first round picks (7th and
16th) and two second round picks (41st and 58th).
They selected Charlie
Villanueva (7th overall) out of Connecticut
and Joey
Graham (16th overall) out of Oklahoma
State. In the second round, they selected Roko
Ukic (41th overall) out of KK
Split (Croatia)
and Uros
Slokar (58th overall) out of Snaidero Udine
(Italy).
Once again, the Raptors' high selection of a player
ranked much lower in the draft (Villanueva) caused
a stir amongst basketball pundits and Raptors fans
alike. Many fans feared a repeat of the Rafael Araujo
situation. However, those fears were soon put to
rest as Villanueva's early season play impressed
both fans and former critics alike, more than justifying
his selection number.
After a quiet offseason, the Raptors
started their training camp by trading Rafer
Alston to the Houston
Rockets for Mike
James. For free
agents, the Raptors signed point guard José
Calderón, who played the past six seasons in
Spain,
to back up the starting Mike
James. They have also re-signed Pape
Sow and Matt
Bonner. Along with that, they lost Donyell
Marshall to free agency and released Lamond
Murray.
The Toronto Raptors started the
2005-2006 season on Wednesday, November 2nd, 2005
with a loss against the Washington
Wizards at the Air
Canada Centre. Over the next two and a half
weeks, the Raptors set a franchise record by losing
their first nine games of the season. The losing
streak ended with a surprisingly decisive victory
over the Miami
Heat (albeit minus Shaquille
O'Neal) on November 20, 2005.
With losses mounting, and media
scrutiny intensifying, Raptors management hired
legendary ex-Purdue coach Gene
Keady as an assistant off the bench, helping
develop the young nucleus of Raptors as well as
establishing a defensive persona for the team.
Sitting with the NBA's worst record,
media rumours surrounding the likely imminent future
departure of young Raptors star Chris
Bosh heated up, adding to an already dismal
start to the 2005-2006 season.
On January 15, 2006, the Raptors
set a franchise record for points in a game with
a 129-103 win over the Knicks when Charlie Villanueva
hit the 3 pointer late in the game. In contrasting
conditions however, on January 22, 2006, the Raptors
found themselves on the wrong side of history, gaining
the dubious distinction of being the team Lakers
superstar Kobe
Bryant scored his record-breaking 81 points
against.
With media scrutiny intensifying
once more, it was announced on January
26, 2006, that the Raptors had fired GM Rob
Babcock, replacing him with senior advisor Wayne
Embry on an interim basis. Management followed
up Babcock's departure with the release of Pete
Babcock and Scott
Howard, clearing the way for a new set of staff
in the off-season. On February 2, 2006 Embry made
his first major move by completing the trade his
predecessor was well known to be hesitant on, sending
the maligned Jalen
Rose, a first round draft pick and cash to the
New
York Knicks in exchange for one-time Raptor
Antonio
Davis.
Though there was some initial fears
Davis would follow Mourning and not report to the
team, all was settled 3 days later, with Davis admitting
he had needed the time to 'clear his head'. And
it was with that, that the Raptors regained one
former All-Star, and days later, produced another
one, with budding superstar Bosh being named a reserve
forward for the Eastern All-Star Team in the '06
game in Houston, Texas.
On February 22nd, Raptors management
reportedly finalized a contract that would see Suns
President/GM Bryan
Colangelo as the successor to Babcock. The official
announcement of Colangelo's hiring was made in a
press conference on February 28, 2006.
Record as of Saturday, March 4,
2006: 20 wins - 38 losses
Players of note
None
Not to be forgotten:
- Vince
Carter – Raptors' all time leading scorer,
a perennial All-Star who put the team on the NBA
map
- Doug
Christie – transformed himself into an elite
defender and helped push the Raptors playoff campaign
- Antonio
Davis – Raptor's second All-Star player behind
Carter, a veteran big man who formed a dominant
inside-outside combo with Carter
- Donyell
Marshall – shot 12 three-point field goals
in a single game as a Raptor, tying an NBA record
- Charles
Oakley – arguably the greatest locker-room
leader for the Raptors
- Morris
Peterson – Raptors' all-time leader in games
played and current NBA Ironman
- Alvin
Robertson – scored first NBA points in Raptors
history
- Damon
Stoudamire – Raptors' first draft selection
and first legit franchise player
- Žan
Tabak – scored first free
throw points in Raptors history
- Alvin
Williams – Raptors' second in all-time games
played
- Jerome
Williams – a fan favourite as "The Junkyard
Dog" (JYD), currently the Raptors' community representative
Retired numbers:
None
Current Roster:
List of Head Coaches
List of General Managers
See also
External links
;)
