Toronto Raptors

History

Background

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 (as the Basketball Association of America). However, the Huskies folded after the initial 1946–47 season. Toronto did not host another NBA game until the 1970s, when the Buffalo Braves (predecessor to the Los Angeles Clippers) played a total of 16 regular season games at Maple Leaf Gardens from 1971 to 1975.

Interest to move or expand an NBA franchise to Toronto grew during the late-1980s; with former NBA commissioner David Stern later describing the expansion to Toronto as a "safe step", given the market size and the likelihood of success in the city. The NBA organized two exhibition games in 1989 and 1992 with an attendance of over 25,000 people each, both in the newly built SkyDome.

The NBA began to seriously consider expansion into Toronto after they received an unsolicited application fee from the Palestra Group, headed by Larry Tanenbaum. The Palestra Group was one of several seeking an NBA franchise, with Professional Basketball Franchise (Canada) Inc. (PBF) formally submitting an application for a Toronto-based team on April 23, 1993. Later that year, in July, the NBA Expansion Committee visited various existing and proposed stadium sites along with the bid contenders. On September 30, 1993, the committee recommended conditionally awarding PBF the franchise.

Creation

The team was formalized on November 4, 1993, when the NBA Board of Governors endorsed the decision of Expansion Committee and awarded its 28th franchise to a group headed by Toronto businessman John Bitove for a then-record expansion fee of US$125 million. Bitove and Allan Slaight of Slaight Communications each owned 44 per cent, with the Bank of Nova Scotia (10 per cent), David Peterson (1 per cent), and Phil Granovsky (1 per cent) being minority partners. Wagering on NBA games in Ontario nearly cost Toronto the expansion franchise, due to strict league rules at the time that prohibited gambling. However, an agreement was reached whereby the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (OLG), which is the provincial lottery corporation that regulates gambling in Ontario, agreed to stop offering wagering on all NBA games in exchange for a donation by the Raptors of $5 million in its first three years and $1 million annually afterwards to its charitable foundation to compensate OLG for its loss of revenue. The Raptors, along with the Vancouver Grizzlies, played their first game on November 3, 1995.

Initial sentiment was in favour of reviving the Huskies nickname, but team management realized it would be nearly impossible to design a logo that did not substantially resemble that of the Minnesota Timberwolves to avoid confusion with that team. As a result, a nationwide contest was held to help name the team and develop their colours and logo. Over 2,000 entries were narrowed down to ten prospects: Beavers, Bobcats, Dragons, Grizzlies, Hogs, Raptors, Scorpions, T-Rex, Tarantulas, and Terriers. 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. On May 24, 1994, the team's logo and first general manager, Isiah Thomas, were revealed at a press conference. As part of the deal, Thomas received an option to purchase part of the team, reportedly for under market value. He would purchase 4.5 per cent in May 1995 and a further 4.5 per cent in December 1995, half each from Bitove and Slaight, decreasing their share to 39.5 per cent. The team's colours of bright red, purple, black, and silver were also revealed; "Naismith" silver was chosen to honour Canadian James Naismith, the inventor of basketball. The team originally competed in the Central Division, and before the inaugural season began, sales of Raptors merchandise ranked seventh in the league, marking a successful return of professional basketball to Canada.

1995–1999: Struggles of a new franchise

As general manager, Isiah Thomas quickly staffed the management positions with his own personnel, naming long-time Detroit Pistons assistant Brendan Malone as the Raptors' head coach. The team's roster was then filled as a result of an expansion draft in 1995. Following a coin flip, Toronto was given first choice and selected Chicago Bulls point guard and three-point specialist B. J. Armstrong. Armstrong refused to report to the club, and Thomas promptly traded him to the Golden State Warriors for power forwards Carlos Rogers and Victor Alexander. Thomas then selected a wide range of players in the expansion draft, including veterans Jerome Kersey, Willie Anderson and his former Pistons teammate John Salley.

Subsequent to the expansion draft, the Raptors landed the seventh pick in the NBA draft lottery, behind their fellow 1995 expansion club, the Vancouver Grizzlies. Thomas selected Damon Stoudamire, a point guard out of Arizona, around whom the franchise would seek to construct its near future. However, the selection of Stoudamire was met with boos from fans at the 1995 NBA draft at the SkyDome in Toronto, many of whom wanted Ed O'Bannon of UCLA, an NCAA Final Four Most Valuable Player.

In the team's first official NBA game, Alvin Robertson scored the first NBA points in Raptors history, while Stoudamire recorded 10 points and 10 assists in a 94–79 victory over the New Jersey Nets. The Raptors concluded their inaugural season with a 21–61 win–loss record, although they were one of the few teams to defeat the Chicago Bulls, who set a then all-time NBA best 72–10 win–loss regular season record. With averages of 19.0 points and 9.3 assists per game, Stoudamire also won the 1995–96 Rookie of the Year Award.

In November of the 1996–97 season, Bitove sold his ownership interest in the team to Slaight for $65 million after Slaight had activated a shotgun clause in their partnership agreement, giving Slaight 79 per cent control of the team, and remaining minority partner of the Bank of Nova Scotia (10 per cent), Thomas (9 per cent) Peterson (1 per cent) and Granovsky (1 per cent). Slaight subsequently acquired the 1 per cent, which had been owned by both Peterson and Granovsky, who had died a year earlier. In their second season the team put up a 30–52 record and selected centre Marcus Camby with the second overall pick in the 1996 NBA draft. By the end of the season, Camby earned a berth on the NBA's All-Rookie Team, while Stoudamire continued to play well, averaging 20.2 points and 8.8 assists per game. As in the previous season, the Raptors were one of only 11 teams to topple the eventual 1997 champions, the Chicago Bulls. The Raptors also defeated the Houston Rockets, Utah Jazz and Miami Heat, all of which were eventual Conference finalists. However, the Raptors struggled against teams who were not of championship calibre, including three losses to the 15–67 Boston Celtics.

1999–2002: Success during the Vince Carter era

During the 1999 NBA draft, believing that the Raptors still lacked a strong frontcourt presence, Grunwald traded first-round draft pick Jonathan Bender for a power forward, Antonio Davis of the Indiana Pacers. Davis quickly entered the Raptors starting line-up and he would develop into an All-Star in the coming years. Conversely, Bender would only play nine seasons and would be out of the league by age 29. In the backcourt, Carter, Christie, and Dell Curry played at the shooting guard position and Alvin Williams and Muggsy Bogues at point guard. The rotation of Davis, Oakley, and Willis in the frontcourt and Carter's and McGrady's improvement helped the team make its first-ever playoff appearance, fulfilling a promise Carter had made to fans in the previous season. Lacking significant postseason experience, Toronto was defeated 3–0 by the New York Knicks in the first round. Nonetheless, team improvements and the rise of Carter—who emphatically won the 2000 NBA Slam Dunk Contest—attracted many fans around Toronto, many of whom were previously not basketball fans. The season was also the first full year played at the Air Canada Centre, after having played four years at the cavernous SkyDome, which was better suited to baseball and Canadian football. Overall, the Raptors concluded the season with a 45–37 record.

Still, playoff failures and Butch Carter's media altercations surrounding Camby led Grunwald to replace Carter prior to the 2000–01 season with Lenny Wilkens, a Hall of Fame coach and player with more than 30 years of coaching experience. The team roster was also largely revamped, including the signing of veteran playmaker Mark Jackson on a four-year contract. When Alvin Williams later emerged as a clutch performer, Jackson was traded to allow Williams more playing time. In the 2000 off-season, free-agent McGrady opted to leave the Raptors in a sign-and-trade deal worth $67.5 million over six years, while giving a conditional draft pick as part of the agreement to the Orlando Magic for a first-round draft pick.

As predicted by analysts, the team easily secured a berth in the 2001 NBA playoffs with a franchise-high 47 wins. The Raptors won their first-ever playoff series as they defeated New York 3–2, advancing to the Eastern Conference semifinals for the first time in franchise history. Wilkens was praised for having Williams defend shooting guard Allan Houston and Carter defend small forward Latrell Sprewell, the two major Knicks offensive threats. The series with Philadelphia 76ers was a landmark for the Raptors in terms of performance and entertainment value. The Sixers relied on Allen Iverson and Dikembe Mutombo for their respective offensive and defensive abilities, along with steady help from Aaron McKie. Toronto 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. The series came down to the last few seconds of Game 7, when Carter's potential series-winning shot rolled off the rim. Carter was later widely criticized for attending his graduation ceremony at the University of North Carolina on the morning of Game 7, as he scored only 20 points on 6-for-18 shooting after a 39-point performance in Game 6. Despite the loss, the season is generally considered a watermark for the franchise, given the Raptors' franchise high of 47 wins and advancing beyond the first round of the playoffs.

2002–2006: Another period of struggle

The 2002–03 season began with the same optimism that the Raptors exhibited in three consecutive playoff seasons, although it faded early. Carter, while voted as a starter in the 2003 All-Star Game, suffered a knee injury, while Davis expressed disinterest in Toronto and Wilkens' laissez-faire attitude created a team that lacked the motivation and spirit of the previous years' teams. The team was ravaged with injuries, losing an NBA record number of player games due to injury. Furthermore, the 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. Wilkens was criticized heavily by the Toronto media for his inability to clamp down on his players when necessary, especially given this was the year that Wilkens overtook Bill Fitch for the most losses by an NBA coach, with his loss total getting dangerously close to his win total. The Raptors ended the season with a 24–58 record and Wilkens was fired. This turned out to be a blessing in disguise, when the Raptors were given the fourth overall pick in the 2003 NBA draft and brought another star to Toronto in Chris Bosh.

Canadian country singer Shania Twain helped launch the new red Raptors alternate road uniform at the start of the 2003–04 season, and the jerseys made their debut in a 90–87 season-opening victory on October 29, 2003, against the defending Eastern Conference champions, the New Jersey Nets. Davis and Jerome Williams were traded early in the season for Jalen Rose and Donyell Marshall. After 50 games, Toronto was 25–25 and in a position to make the playoffs, but injuries to key players sent the Raptors plummeting down the standings. Rose, Carter and Alvin Williams all suffered injuries as the Raptors struggled to a record of 8–24 in their remaining games. The notable individual season performances were Carter's 22.5 ppg, Marshall's 10.7 rpg, and rookie Bosh, a 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) forward-centre, averaging 11.5 ppg and 7.4 rpg and being named to the NBA All-Rookie Team. Williams' knee injury turned out to be career-ending.

For the 2004–05 season, the team moved into the Atlantic Division and the Raptors decided to revamp the team. Raptors' President and CEO of Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment Richard Peddie fired Grunwald on April 1, 2004, after the team ended the season three games short of the eighth and final playoff spot in the previous season. Head coach Kevin O'Neill and his four assistant coaches were also dismissed immediately after Grunwald's termination. Toronto interim manager Jack McCloskey said: "While the blame for that certainly does not rest on O'Neill and his staff alone, we need a change." Rob Babcock was named general manager on June 7, 2004, alongside the appointments of Wayne Embry as senior advisor and Alex English as director of player development. Sam Mitchell, a former NBA forward and assistant coach of the Milwaukee Bucks, was hired as new head coach of the Raptors.

2006–2010: Chris Bosh era

The 2006–07 season represented a watershed year for the Raptors franchise. The roster was overhauled, including the selection of 2006 NBA draft number one pick Andrea Bargnani, the acquisition of point guard T. J. Ford in exchange for Villanueva, and the signing of shooting guard Anthony Parker and small forward Jorge Garbajosa. Bosh was given a three-year contract extension, while Maurizio Gherardini of Benetton Treviso was hired as the club's vice-president and assistant general manager.

The first half of the season produced mixed results as Toronto struggled towards the .500 mark. After the All-Star break, Bargnani continued to work on his defence and shooting (averaging 14.3 points per game and 3.9 rebounds per game in 12 games for the month of February 2007), and he was selected as the Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month for the second straight time on March 1, 2007. Bargnani became the third Raptor ever to win the award twice, joining Vince Carter and Damon Stoudamire. Toronto ended the regular season with a 47–35 record, securing the third seed in the Eastern Conference for the 2007 NBA playoffs along with the Atlantic Division title, as well as homecourt advantage for the first time in franchise history. Bosh was voted to start in the 2007 NBA All-Star Game. The Raptors were also praised for their improved defence, ball-sharing and tremendous team chemistry. Colangelo, Gherardini and Mitchell were credited with Toronto's turnaround this season, which was one of the best in NBA history in terms of league standing and defensive ranking. Mitchell was subsequently named the 2006–07 NBA Coach of the Year, the first coach in Raptors history to receive the honour, while Colangelo was named 2006–07 Executive of the Year.

On April 24, 2007, the Raptors won their first playoff game in five seasons, with an 89–83 victory over the New Jersey Nets, but lost the series 4–2. The series was notable for pitting ex-Raptor Vince Carter against his former team. The Nets took home court advantage in Game 1, holding off a late Raptors rally in the fourth quarter. The Raptors pulled away in another tight game to even the series at one game apiece. When the series shifted to New Jersey, the Nets took charge of the series, winning Games 3 and 4 in routs. New Jersey had a chance to win the series in game 5 in Toronto, but the Raptors took a 20-point lead after one quarter. Still, New Jersey chipped away and had a chance to win the game, but Boštjan Nachbar's three-pointer missed at the buzzer. Needing to win in New Jersey to force a game 7, Toronto held a one-point lead with under a minute to play in game 6, but Richard Jefferson hit a layup with eight seconds left to play. Toronto attempted to try for the game-winning shot, but Jefferson intercepted a pass to seal the series for the Nets.

2010–2013: Rebuilding

Before the 2010–11 season began, there was much anticipation around the league over the fates of an elite pack of free agents, featuring the likes of Bosh, Dwyane Wade, LeBron James, and Amar'e Stoudemire.

Bosh and James eventually chose to converge in Miami with Wade, and the sign-and-trade transaction that ensued resulted in the Raptors receiving two first-round draft picks and a trade exception from Miami. Prior to this, Toronto had drafted Ed Davis, also a left-handed power forward like Bosh. After Bosh left, Colangelo sought to trade Calderón, Evans and the disenchanted Türkoğlu for Tyson Chandler, Leandro Barbosa, and Boris Diaw, but the trade involving Chandler collapsed at the last minute, as Chandler was traded to the Dallas Mavericks instead. Belinelli was then traded to New Orleans Hornets for Julian Wright, and 13 games into the season, Jack, David Andersen, and Marcus Banks to New Orleans for Peja Stojaković and Jerryd Bayless. 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. Without Bosh, Toronto as a team regressed and were only able to secure 22 wins in the regular season.

Dwane Casey, an assistant coach with the Mavericks, was hired as the new head coach of Toronto before the 2011–12 season. The Raptors used their number five pick to select Jonas Valančiūnas, a centre from Lithuania in the 2011 NBA draft. The season was shortened by 16 regular season games due to the 2011 NBA lockout, and the Raptors finished the season with a 23–43 record. During the 2012 off-season, Colangelo tried to lure Canadian free agent and two-time MVP Steve Nash, who had become a free agent after playing for the Phoenix Suns, to play for the Raptors. When Nash joined the Los Angeles Lakers instead, the Raptors acquired point guard Kyle Lowry from the Houston Rockets for a future first-round pick. Lowry, combined with Valančiūnas and the eighth pick in the 2012 draft Terrence Ross, represented the next phase of the re-building process. On January 30, 2013, the 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 Calderón to the Detroit Pistons and Davis, along with Pistons veteran Tayshaun Prince and a second-round pick to the Grizzlies. Haddadi was later traded, along with a second-round pick, to Phoenix in exchange for guard Sebastian Telfair. The 2012–13 season was the first season since 2009–10 that the Raptors finished the season with a winning home record (21–20), despite their overall losing record (34–48).

2013–2025: The Masai Ujiri era

During the 2013 off-season, new general manager Masai Ujiri traded Bargnani to the New York Knicks for Marcus Camby, Steve Novak, Quentin Richardson, a future first-round draft pick, and two future second-round picks; Camby and Richardson were both waived shortly after the trade. The Raptors also added Tyler Hansbrough, D. J. Augustin, Dwight Buycks, and Austin Daye via free agency. On December 9, 2013, the Raptors traded Rudy Gay, Quincy Acy, and Aaron Gray to the Sacramento Kings for John Salmons, Greivis Vásquez, Patrick Patterson, and Chuck Hayes, and waived Augustin.

During the 2013–14 season, the Raptors were 6–12 before the Rudy Gay trade; after the trade they went on a 10–3 run, as they maintained their lead in the division and rose above the .500 mark for the first time in almost three years. The Raptors entered the All-Star break with a 28–24 record, and DeRozan was also selected to play in the All-Star game, being only the fourth ever Raptor to do so. On March 28, 2014, the Raptors clinched a playoff berth for the first time since 2008 after beating the Boston Celtics, 105–103. On April 11, 2014, the Raptors lost to the New York Knicks, 108–100, but since the division rival Brooklyn Nets lost to the Atlanta Hawks the same night, the Raptors became Atlantic Division champions for the first time since 2007. They finished the regular season with a franchise-high 48 wins (.585), going 42–22 (.656) after the Gay trade, the third-best record in the Eastern Conference. The 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. Toronto nearly advanced to the next round, but Paul Pierce blocked a potential game-winner by Lowry in Game 7.

During the 2014–15 season, the Raptors were off to their best start in franchise history: a then-Eastern Conference-leading 24–8 record by the end of 2014. On March 27, 2015, the Raptors clinched the Atlantic division title with a 94–83 win over the Los Angeles Lakers. This was the second consecutive year that the Raptors clinched the Atlantic Division title. On April 11, 2015, the Raptors beat the Miami Heat, Toronto's first road win over the Heat since November 19, 2008, ending a ten-game slide on Miami's home floor. The win was Toronto's 48th of the season and 22nd on the road, both tying franchise records. Four days later, the Raptors broke their franchise record with their 49th win of the season. After the 2014–15 season, Louis Williams won the NBA Sixth Man of the Year Award, becoming the first Raptor to do so. The Raptors faced the Washington Wizards in the first round of the 2015 playoffs and lost four straight games as the Wizards swept the Raptors.

Season-by-season record

List of the last five seasons completed by the Raptors. For the full season-by-season history, see List of Toronto Raptors seasons.

Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, W–L% = Winning percentage

Logos and uniforms

Logos

Fueled by the success of the Jurassic Park film and the popularity of non-avian dinosaurs with younger audiences, who would grow up to be fans of the franchise, the team's first logo originally featured an aggressive-looking, featherless red Velociraptor wearing white sneakers with exposed toe-claws dribbling a silver-coloured basketball. The team's original colours were purple, bright red, black and "Naismith silver" (in honour of the Canadian inventor of basketball, James Naismith). The logo proved to be very popular among fans, as by the end of 1994, the Raptors were seventh in the league in merchandise sales. For the 2008−09 season, the franchise dropped the colour purple from the original logo, making bright red the predominant colour in both the logo and the team's jerseys.

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".

The Toronto Raptors used various court art over the team's existence. For retro games, the Raptors used the Toronto Huskies logo, given that the Raptors are among the newest NBA teams and the Huskies are the Raptors' unofficial geographical predecessor. Beginning in early 2018, in some games, the Raptors use the Welcome Toronto logo, as the Raptors have strong connections with Toronto-based rapper Drake, as well as the 3D Raptors logo. Scotiabank subsidiary Tangerine Bank's name and logo are printed on the court as well (Tangerine Bank was formerly ING Direct Canada, until Scotiabank purchased the company in 2012 and re-branded it in 2013).

The Raptors have their own court art specifically for the NBA Cup games.

Uniforms

The uniforms the Raptors unveiled prior to the 1995–96 season, and wore until 1999, had black and white tears as pinstripes, edgy asymmetric lettering, a raptor claw on one side of the shorts, a raptor biting the 'T' of the 'TR' franchise acronym on the other side; and featured a red giant and aggressive Velociraptor dribbling a basketball (as depicted on the franchise logo) in the middle of the jersey. The Raptors unveiled these new jerseys in 1999−2000, launching a unique road jersey that had a purple front and a black back. In 2003−04, the 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. From the 2008−09 season through the 2014−15 season, the Raptors unveiled their alternate black road uniforms, which were actually worn as often as the primary red ones.

On August 3, 2015, the Toronto Raptors unveiled four new uniforms. The uniforms were released in partnership with 2K Sports' NBA 2K16 video game. The team said in a press release that the new uniform designs were intended to pay tribute to the city of Toronto and to Canada as a whole, noting that the Raptors were the sole Canadian club in the NBA since the Grizzlies' move from Vancouver to Memphis. The main colours would remain centred on Canada's national colours of red and white, whereas black and silver will continue to be used for trim on the white home and red road uniforms. The uniforms themselves underwent changes. Most notably, the chevrons on the side panels now point up, which the team said aligns with its current slogan of "We The North". Since being introduced as a uniform accent in 1999, the chevrons had pointed downward, the team said. In addition, at the waist-level hem of the jersey is an upside-down tag with the team's "We The North" slogan. The team said the slogan on the tag will be visible to players when they tuck in their jerseys. Additionally, the shorts now feature a maple leaf logo on the front of the waistband, and the letter "T" is now on the sides of the shorts with the Raptors' basketball claw logo below it. This is a reference to the city of Toronto's "T-Dot" nickname. The Raptors also have an alternate road uniform based on Drake's October's Very Own (OVO) Sound record label.

In 2017, as part of the NBA's partnership with Nike, each team was allotted four primary uniforms, classified as "editions". The Raptors made small changes to their regular home (now called "Association edition") and road (now the "Icon edition") uniforms, as well as their alternate ("Statement edition") uniforms. In addition, each franchise was also given new "City edition" uniforms, conceived by Nike as a way of commemorating each of the NBA teams' city history and pride. For the 2018–19 season, the Raptors were one of the franchises awarded "Earned edition" uniforms, by virtue of qualifying in the 2018 playoffs. The 2021−22 version of the "City edition" brought back the original Velociraptor, albeit in black and gold and facing the opposite direction.

Arenas

OVO Athletic Centre (Practice facility: 2016–present)

Personnel

Retained draft rights

The Raptors hold the draft rights to the following unsigned draft picks who have been playing outside the NBA. A drafted player, either an international draftee or a college draftee who is not signed by the team that drafted him, is allowed to sign with any non-NBA team. In this case, the team retains the player's draft rights in the NBA until one year after the player's contract with the non-NBA team ends. This list includes draft rights that were acquired from trades with other teams.

Retired numbers

All retired numbers hang from the rafters at Scotiabank Arena.

The team announced that Kyle Lowry's No. 7 will be retired during the 2026–27 NBA season.

The NBA retired Bill Russell's No. 6 for all its member teams on August 11, 2022.

Basketball Hall of Famers

Notes:

1 Wilkens was inducted into the Hall of Fame thrice — as player, as coach and as a member of the 1992 Olympic team.

2 Bosh was inducted into the Hall of Fame twice — as player and as a member of the 2008 Olympic team.

Management

General managers

Presidents of basketball operations

Owners

Awards and records

Since their inception in 1995, the Raptors have made the playoffs thirteen times (2000–2002, 2007, 2008, 2014–2020 and 2022), advancing past the first round six times (2001 and 2016–2020). The Raptors have won the Atlantic Division seven times (2007, 2014–2016, and 2018–2020), and the franchise record number of wins in the regular season is 59 (2018). The Raptors advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals twice (2016 and 2019). Only once did the Raptors reach and win the NBA Finals (2019). Nine Raptors have been selected to play in the All-Star game: Vince Carter, Antonio Davis, Chris Bosh, DeMar DeRozan, Kyle Lowry, Kawhi Leonard, Pascal Siakam, Fred VanVleet and Scottie Barnes. With the exception of Davis, VanVleet and Barnes, these players also made All-NBA teams, while Leonard has also made the All-NBA Defensive team. Two Raptors coaches have also made the All-Star game: Dwane Casey in 2018 and Nick Nurse in 2020. In 2020, the 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.

Broadcasters

Raptors games are primarily broadcast on television by Canadian sports channels TSN and Sportsnet, owned by Bell Media and Rogers Communications, respectively. Through MLSE, the Raptors also operate the Canadian version of NBA TV (formerly known as Raptors NBA TV), which airs reruns of Raptors telecasts along with other news and analysis programs focusing on the team and the rest of the NBA. During the 2019 NBA Finals, for simultaneous substitution purposes, Citytv (for games aired by Sportsnet) and CTV 2 (for games aired by TSN) aired the ABC feed.

Fanbase and marketing

The Raptors have enjoyed a consistent fanbase throughout their history. They set NBA attendance records in their 2000, 2001, and 2002 seasons when they made the playoffs. Attendance dipped slightly between 2003 and 2006. This improved during the 2006–07 regular season to an average of 18,258 fans (13th in the league), 92.2 per cent of capacity at the Air Canada Centre. Following the success of the 2006–07 season, Toronto became one of the league leaders in season ticket sales for the 2007–08 season.

Another successful run starting in 2013–14 led to a spike in the Raptors' support. For the 2014–15 season, the team sold out the 12,500 season tickets, the first time it occurred since 2011. Public watchings of the Raptors games, particularly during the playoffs, started being held in 2014 at Maple Leaf Square, which the fans nicknamed "Jurassic Park". MLSE decided to endorse this practice by setting up concession stands and branded sponsorships at the square with naming rights sold to Ford Motor Company's Canadian operations, along with increased security. At times, footage from the square is broadcast to the Raptors locker room. The victorious Game 7 against the Indiana Pacers on the 2016 playoffs was the most-watched Raptors broadcast ever and the biggest television audience in Canada that day, averaging 1.53 million viewers with a peak of 2.63 million. This record has since been broken during the Raptors' victorious 2019 playoff run, averaging 7.7 million viewers with a peak of 10 million in the NBA Finals.

The value of the Raptors franchise has risen over the years. In 1998, the franchise was bought for US$125 million. With the continued popularity of the Raptors, the value of the franchise doubled from US$148 million in 2000 to $297 million in 2004. The value of the franchise grew again from $315 million in 2006 to $373 million in 2007, and $400 million in 2008. By 2018, Forbes estimated the Raptors were worth $1.4 billion, 12th in the NBA.

The Raptor mascot, the North Side Crew, and DJ 4 Korners provide in-arena entertainment at Scotiabank Arena during game day. During the 2013–14 season, a new "Drake Zone" was created in the lower bowl. Limited edition shirts were given away to fans sitting in the Drake Zone. Giveaways are sometimes bundled with tickets to encourage attendance. Further, whenever Toronto scores more than 100 points in a home game and wins, fans can redeem their ticket for a cheese or pepperoni pizza slice at standalone Pizza Pizza locations throughout Ontario for the business day after the game that was played. This is part of a promotion made by the Raptors' official pizza sponsor. However, beginning in the 2018–19 season, the promotion added an extra requirement of purchasing a first slice before receiving the free second slice, though it requires using the Pizza Pizza mobile app instead of using a Raptors ticket, allowing Raptors fans who did not attend the game to receive a free second slice after purchasing a first slice. Beginning in the same NBA season, McDonald's Canadian operations also offer fans in Ontario using the McDonald's Canada mobile app, regardless of game attendance, a free medium-sized serving of French fries with a minimum C$1 purchase of another item the next day after when the Raptors make at least a dozen successful three-pointers in home or away games regardless of outcome. The promotion was then expanded to include McDonald's locations throughout the rest of Canada the following season, but excluded McDonald's restaurants located in Quebec because the chain was already running a similar promotion with the Montreal Canadiens NHL team in that province.

Partnership with Drake

In the lead-up to the team's 20th anniversary season in 2015 and its hosting of the 2016 All-Star Game, the Raptors began the process of re-branding itself. On September 30, 2013, Toronto-based rapper Drake was announced as the new "global ambassador" for the Toronto Raptors, thereby joining the executive committee of his hometown's NBA team. In April 2014, the Raptors unveiled a new imaging campaign developed by the agency Sid Lee, "We The North", built around a manifesto that was meant to embrace the team's trait of being an "outsider" from the "north side", and the accompanying feelings of players and fans.

The "We The North" campaign was originally to be launched during the 2015–16 season; however, the launch was hastened so it would be ready in time for the 2014 playoffs, taking into account the poor performance of Canada's other pro sports teams at the time. An introductory commercial was quickly filmed, which featured the manifesto as narration, scenes of local basketball players in various outdoor locations around the city, and ended with a scene displaying a black, waving flag with the motto written on it. The campaign was immediately embraced by fans during the playoffs and following season; the launch commercial was viewed over 500,000 times in the two days following its release, "We The North"-branded shirts and flags became a common sight at games, while Ryerson University (now Toronto Metropolitan University) sports marketing professor Cheri Bradish compared the campaign to Molson's former "I Am Canadian" alcohol advertising campaign in how it resonated with the country.

On December 19, 2014, the Raptors soft-launched a new logo also designed by Sid Lee, which features a basketball with claw marks. The new logo was officially implemented during the 2015–16 season. The logo's introduction was marred by a disorganized launch, which saw a black and white version initially shown before the eventual unveiling of coloured versions later in the day, mixed reviews for the design itself, with some (especially on the black and white version) comparing it to that of the Brooklyn Nets, and despite teasing merchandise with the new logo, not releasing any until at least mid-2015. There were also alleged tensions between MLSE staff and Drake surrounding the new design—in particular, the performer had pushed for the team to change its primary colour from red to gold (a colour seen in one of the official variants of the logo unveiled that day). In a response on Twitter, Drake distanced himself from the "execution" of the new logo.

Community service

The Raptors Foundation was the charitable arm of the Raptors, dedicated to assisting Ontario's registered charities that support programs and sports initiatives for at-risk children and youth. The Foundation strove to lift spirits and change lives for young people by supporting local and provincial organizations that provide recreational, educational and other youth-oriented activities. Through its community ties and with the help of its corporate partners, donors, Raptors players and volunteers, the Foundation had successfully raised more than $14 million between 1995 and 2007, and reached out to thousands of other charities. In 2009, the Raptors Foundation merged with the other charitable arms of MLSE's other sports franchises to form the MLSE Team Up Foundation.

In 2018, the Raptors, in partnership with Drake, announced the Welcome Toronto program. The program will see the Raptors and OVO contribute $2 million to Canada Basketball over the next four years. In addition, the Raptors and OVO also announced a donation of $1 million over the next three years in order to refurbish four community basketball courts within Toronto city limits. The four courts are located at Flemingdon Community Centre in the North York district in the north end of the city, Malvern Community Recreation Centre in the Scarborough district in the east end of the city, Matty Eckler Community Centre in the Riverdale neighbourhood of the Old Toronto district just to the east of downtown, and Thistletown Community Centre in the Etobicoke district in the west end of the city.

Rivalries

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

New Jersey/Brooklyn Nets

The New Jersey/Brooklyn Nets and the Raptors have been minor rivals since the trade of Vince Carter during the 2004–05 season. The rivalry began to heat up as the two teams faced each other in the opening round of the 2007 NBA Playoffs, with the Nets winning the series, 4–2, after a go-ahead shot by Richard Jefferson with 8 seconds left in Game 6 ensuring a 98–97 defeat for the Raptors. The rivalry was rekindled during the 2013–14 season when the Nets and Raptors battled for the Atlantic Division. The Raptors won the division final but then faced the Nets in the opening round of the 2014 NBA Playoffs. Prior to Game 1 of the series, Raptors' general manager Masai Ujiri spoke at a Raptors rally outside Air Canada Centre's Maple Leaf Square. During the rally, Ujiri yelled "Fuck Brooklyn!" which found its way onto various social media platforms within minutes. Masai was fined $25,000 by the NBA for the quote and later apologized for the excessive language. The hard-fought series lasted seven games, and was decided in the final seconds when Paul Pierce blocked Kyle Lowry's shot giving the Nets the 104–103 victory. The two teams met again in the first round of 2020 NBA Playoffs, this time with the Raptors sweeping the Nets in four games, which was the first playoff series that the Raptors swept.

New York Knicks

The New York Knicks and the Raptors are divisional rivals. The Raptors made their first-ever playoff appearance during the 1999–2000 season, in which they were swept by the Knicks in the first round, 3–0. The following season, the Raptors redeemed themselves, defeating the Knicks in the first round 3–2; this effectively ended the Knicks' run as perennial NBA championship contenders, which began in the early 1990s.