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.
Converse is an American lifestyle brand that markets, distributes, and licenses footwear, apparel, and accessories. Founded by Marquis Mills Converse in 1908 as the Converse Rubber Shoe Company in Malden, Massachusetts, it has been acquired by several companies before becoming a subsidiary of Nike, Inc. in 2003.
Shad Gregory Moss, better known by his stage name Bow Wow, is an American rapper and actor. His career began upon being discovered by rapper Snoop Dogg in 1993 at the age of six; five years later, he signed with record producer Jermaine Dupri's So So Def Recordings, an imprint of Columbia Records. As Lil' Bow Wow, he released his debut studio album, Beware of Dog (2000) at age 13, and his second album, Doggy Bag (2001) the following year. Both met with critical and commercial success, the albums peaked at numbers ten and 11 on the Billboard 200, respectively.
Jonathan William Lipnicki is an American actor who is known for his roles as a child actor. He has appeared in films such as Jerry Maguire (1996), Stuart Little (1999) and Stuart Little 2 (2002), The Little Vampire (2000), and Like Mike (2002). He also starred in the television series Dawson's Creek on The WB and Meego on CBS.
Charles Oakley is an American former professional basketball player. Oakley played most of 19 seasons in the National Basketball Association with the New York Knicks. As a power forward, he consistently ranked as one of the best rebounders and defensive players in the NBA. He also played for the Chicago Bulls, Toronto Raptors, Washington Wizards, and Houston Rockets. Since 2017, he has been the coach of the Killer 3's of the BIG3.
Air Jordan is a line of basketball shoes produced by Nike, Inc. Related apparel and accessories are marketed under Jordan Brand.
British Knights is an American brand founded in 1983 by Jack Schwartz Shoes Inc., based in New York City. In the 1980s, British Knights distinguished themselves as an inner-city and music-driven brand, appealing to the predominantly male youth in urban communities.
Robert "Bobbito" Garcia, also known as DJ Cucumber Slice and Kool Bob Love, is an American DJ, radio host, author, and member of the Rock Steady Crew. He is known as a former co-host of hip hop radio show The Stretch Armstrong and Bobbito Show, alongside Adrian "Stretch Armstrong" Bartos, from 1990 until 1999. He later moved to Washington, D.C., where he currently hosts a new podcast on NPR called What's Good? alongside Bartos. Garcia was the announcer for the video game NBA Street Vol. 2.
William Sydney Wesley is the Executive Vice President – Senior Basketball Advisor for the New York Knicks. He is a former American consultant for Creative Artists Agency. Known as "World Wide Wes" or simply "Wes," Wesley is noted for his relationships with numerous high-profile NBA players and team owners, college basketball head coaches and their agents. Considered by many observers within the industry as a power broker and one of the most influential men in the business side of basketball, he forged those strong ties without being associated with any business entity.
Like Mike 2: Streetball is a 2006 American sports comedy film directed by David Nelson. Contrary to the film title, it is not a plot continuation of the 2002 film nor does it feature any of the original cast members.
The 2002 NBA All-Star Game was an exhibition basketball game which was played on February 10, 2002, at the First Union Center in Philadelphia, home of the Philadelphia 76ers. This game was the 51st edition of the North American NBA All-Star Game and was played during the 2001–02 NBA season.
David B. Falk is an American sports agent who primarily works with basketball players in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He began his career representing professional tennis players for Donald Dell's ProServ and is best known for representing sports icon Michael Jordan for the entirety of Jordan's career. Besides Jordan, Falk has represented more than 100 other NBA players, and is generally considered to be the most influential player agent the NBA has seen. During the peak years of Falk's career in the 1990s, he was often considered the second-most powerful person in the NBA behind Commissioner David Stern, and in 2000 he had at least one client on all but two NBA teams. He was listed among the "100 Most Powerful People in Sports" for 12 straight years from 1990 to 2001 by The Sporting News, and was also named one of the Top 50 Marketers in the United States by Advertising Age in 1995.
John Paul Vincent "Sonny" Vaccaro is an American former sports marketing executive. He lives in Santa Monica, California.
The 2000–01 NBA season was the Raptors' sixth season in the National Basketball Association. This was the Raptors' first season without Butch Carter, Tracy McGrady, Doug Christie, and Dee Brown. During the 2000 off-season, the Raptors acquired Corliss Williamson from the Sacramento Kings, and signed free agent Mark Jackson. Basketball Hall of Fame member Lenny Wilkens became the fourth head coach in the team's franchise history. The Raptors lost their first three games, but played above .500 as the season progressed holding a 26–23 record at the All-Star break. At midseason, Williamson was traded to the Detroit Pistons in exchange for Jerome Williams and Eric Montross, while Jackson was traded along with Muggsy Bogues back to his former team, the New York Knicks in exchange for Chris Childs, and Kevin Willis was dealt to the Denver Nuggets in exchange for Keon Clark and Tracy Murray in two other separate midseason trades. The Raptors won 11 of their final 14 games, finishing second in the Central Division with a 47–35 record.
Nike, Inc. is an American athletic footwear and apparel corporation headquartered near Beaverton, Oregon, United States. It is the world's largest supplier of athletic shoes and apparel and a major manufacturer of sports equipment, with revenue in excess of US$46 billion in its fiscal year 2022.
Lottery Ticket is a 2010 American comedy film directed by Erik White and starring Bow Wow, Brandon T. Jackson, Naturi Naughton, Keith David, Charlie Murphy, Gbenga Akinnagbe, Terry Crews, Mike Epps, Loretta Devine and Ice Cube. The story follows a young man from Atlanta who wins a $370 million lottery, and soon realizes that people from the neighborhood are not his real friends, but are after his money.
"Wings" is a song by American hip hop duo Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, released as the debut single from their first studio album The Heist. It features uncredited vocals from kids.
Jordan Michael Geller is an American sneaker collector who founded and operated the ShoeZeum, the world's first sneaker museum. In 2012, Geller was certified by Guinness World Records for having the largest sneaker collection in the world, at 2,388 pairs.
The Flu Game shoes are black and red size 13 Nike Air Jordan XII worn by Michael Jordan in game five of the 1997 NBA Finals, commonly called The Flu Game. The game was between Michael Jordan's Chicago Bulls and the Utah Jazz. It was reported that Jordan had the flu before and during the game. Later, it was revealed that he was suffering from food poisoning.
The Last Dance shoes are a pair of signed Air Jordan XIII shoes which were worn by Michael Jordan of the Chicago Bulls during game 2 of the 1998 NBA Finals.
