NBA
Why do the Toronto Raptors play in the NBA if they are Canadian?
The Toronto Raptors were one of two Canadian teams formed to compete in the NBA during the 1995 expansion, along with the Vancouver Grizzlies.
The National Basketball Association has performed several expansions during its 75-year history, with 14 of the league’s 30 current teams being added between 1966 and 1980. During the more recent modern expansions, the NBA decided to look north and added two Canada-based teams in 1995: the Vancouver Grizzlies (who later relocated to Memphis) and the Toronto Raptors.
However, the Raptors are not the first team from Toronto to compete in the NBA. In the league’s inaugural season in 1946-47, when it was known as the Basketball Association of America, the Huskies represented the Canadian city, competing in the Eastern Division with the Washington Capitols, eventual champions the Philadelphia Warriors, the New York Knicks, the Providence Steamrollers and the Boston Celtics.
The Huskies, who finished 22-38 after whittling through four head coaches, folded after just one season but did earn their place in NBA history for participating in the first official game in the league’s history at Maple Leaf Gardens, a 68-66 loss against the Knicks.
Toronto would not see another NBA side in action in the city for another 48 years, when the NBA expansion knocked on the door. Originally, the newly formed side toyed with the idea of bringing the Huskies back to Toronto, but it was decided that any attempt to modernize the old Huskies logo would prove be too similar to that of the Minnesota Timberwolves. Hence the team became the Raptors.
Jurassic Park gave rise to Raptors
The new team's name was decided by a nationwide contest that was eventually narrowed down to 11 entries: Beavers, Bobcats, Dragons, Grizzlies, Hogs, Raptors, Scorpions, T-Rex, Tarantulas, Terriers and Towers. The eventual winner, Jeff Goldblum might have said, found a way: the Raptors name was selected due to the global phenomenon of Jurassic Park, written in 1990 by Chicago-born author Michael Crichton and given the blockbuster treatment by Steven Spielberg in 1993.
The Raptors have so far won one NBA Championship - when Kawhi Leonard led the team to victory over the Golden State Warriors – one Conference title in the same year and seven Division titles in their 26-year history. Despite seeing Leonard depart for the Clippers after their Championship triumph, the Raptors managed to reach the playoffs in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, eventually losing to the Celtics, before relocating to Florida for the 2020-21 season due to coronavirus travel restrictions, where the visiting Raptors failed to make the playoffs for the first time in eight seasons.
This season the Raptors have been cleared to return to their Scotiabank Arena home, with spectators allowed if they are able to produce a Covid-19 vaccination certificate.