The Toronto Raptors are a Canadian professional basketball team based in Toronto. The Raptors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home games at Scotiabank Arena, which it shares with the Toronto Maple Leafs of the National Hockey League (NHL). The team was founded in 1995 as part of the NBA's expansion into Canada, along with the Vancouver Grizzlies. Since the 2001–02 season, the Raptors have been the only Canadian-based team in the league, as the Grizzlies relocated from Vancouver to Memphis, Tennessee.
The Canadian Soccer Association is the governing body for soccer in Canada. Headquartered in Ottawa, Ontario, the federation is a full member of FIFA and governs Canadian soccer at the international, professional, and amateur levels, including: the men's and women's national teams, Canadian Premier League, youth organizations, beach soccer, futsal, Paralympic and deaf national teams. The Canadian Soccer Association also administers and operates the Canadian Championship.
The Toronto Huskies were a team in the Basketball Association of America (BAA), which was a forerunner of the National Basketball Association (NBA), during the 1946–47 season. They were based in Toronto. The team compiled a 22–38 win–loss record in its only season before disbanding in the summer of 1947.
Lyndon Hooper is a Canadian former professional soccer player and former assistant coach of the Toronto Lynx soccer team of the United Soccer Leagues First Division. A former midfielder, he was a prominent Canadian international.
Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment Ltd. (MLSE) is a professional sports and commercial real estate company based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. With assets that include franchises in four of the six major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada, it is the largest sports and entertainment company in Canada, and one of the largest in North America.
John Joseph "Jack" Armstrong is an American sportscaster, working primarily for the Toronto Raptors on TSN and NBA TV Canada. Armstrong is also the college basketball analyst for TSN and a former college basketball coach.
Peter Sarantopoulos is a former Canadian international soccer defender.
Matt Devlin is a play-by-play TV announcer currently employed mainly by the Toronto Raptors of the NBA, having replaced Chuck Swirsky in 2008. His current on-air colour commentator partners are Alvin Williams and Jack Armstrong.
Nicolas De Santis is a former professional soccer player.
The city of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, has a long history of sport. It is home to a number of clubs, including the Granite Club, the Royal Canadian Yacht Club, the Toronto Cricket, Skating and Curling Club, the Argonaut Rowing Club, Toronto Argonauts football club, the Toronto Lawn Tennis Club, and the Badminton and Racquet Club. A number of heritage venues have developed in Toronto such as: Christie Pits, Coca-Cola Coliseum, Varsity Arena, and Maple Leaf Gardens. Toronto is also the location of the Canadian Football League's headquarters.
The Toronto Raptors 2006–07 season was the twelfth National Basketball Association (NBA) season for the Toronto Raptors basketball franchise. Following a poor 2005–06 season, General Manager Bryan Colangelo greatly revamped the team roster during the pre-season but continued to build the team around All-Star Chris Bosh. Despite a sluggish start, the 2006–07 season transformed into a watershed year for Toronto. The Raptors captured their first division title, finished third in the Eastern Conference, made the playoffs for the first time in five years, equalled their best ever regular season record (47–35) of the 2000–01 team, and secured home court advantage for the first time in franchise history. However, the Raptors met the New Jersey Nets in the first round of the playoffs and were defeated four games to two. At the end of the regular season, head coach Sam Mitchell and Colangelo were named NBA Coach of the Year and NBA Executive of the Year respectively. The Raptors also changed their colour scheme which is still in use today.
CTV Sports was the division of the CTV Television Network responsible for sports broadcasting. The division existed in its own right from 1961 to 2001; between 1998 and 2001, CTV Sports also operated a cable sports network, CTV Sportsnet, now owned by Rogers Media and known simply as Sportsnet.
Masai Michael Ujiri is a professional basketball executive and former player who is the president of the Toronto Raptors in the National Basketball Association (NBA).
Cory Ephram Joseph is a Canadian professional basketball player for the Orlando Magic of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He plays the point guard position and was previously the captain of the Canadian national team.
Gareth Wheeler is a Canadian sports broadcaster and radio host for The Sports Network (TSN) and TSN 1050 Radio, based in Toronto, Ontario. He currently serves as the radio voice of Toronto FC on TSN 1050 for games involving TFC on the TSN family of networks.
The 2019 NBA Finals was the championship series of the National Basketball Association's (NBA) 2018–19 season and conclusion of the season's playoffs. In the best-of-seven playoff series held from May 30 through June 13, 2019, the Eastern Conference champion Toronto Raptors defeated the two-time defending NBA champion and Western Conference champion Golden State Warriors, , earning the franchise its first NBA championship as well as the first win by an NBA team based outside the United States. Acquired by the Raptors via a trade during the off-season, Kawhi Leonard was named the NBA Finals Most Valuable Player (MVP) for the second time in his career.
The 2018–19 Toronto Raptors season was the 24th season of the franchise in the National Basketball Association (NBA). During the off-season, the Raptors acquired small forward Kawhi Leonard from the San Antonio Spurs after trading franchise star DeMar DeRozan. The season ended with the franchise's first NBA Finals appearance and first NBA championship, ending the City of Toronto's 26-year championship drought if not counting Toronto FC’s 2017 MLS championship or Toronto Argonauts multiple Grey Cup Championships. The Raptors were one of two teams to have an offense and defensive rating that both ranked in the top 5 of the NBA. This edition of the Raptors is considered one of the best teams of the 21st century.
Alan Horwitz is an American businessman and the founder and chairman of Campus Apartments, a student housing company headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Horwitz is also a superfan of the Philadelphia 76ers of the National Basketball Association and is known for sitting courtside at every 76ers home game wearing his "#76 SIXTH MAN" jersey.
Nav Bhatia, nicknamed the Raptors Superfan, is a Canadian businessman and superfan of the Toronto Raptors basketball team. He founded and currently runs the Superfan Foundation to help unite people through the love of the sport.
Bill Manning is a sports executive. He has worked in the front office of the Houston Rockets of the NBA and the Philadelphia Eagles of the NFL, Toronto FC, Real Salt Lake, and the Tampa Bay Mutiny in Major League Soccer and the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League. He previously was a professional soccer player. Born in the United States, he represented the Puerto Rico national team.
