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 National Basketball Association's Coach of the Year is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) award given since the 1962–63 NBA season. The winner receives the Red Auerbach Trophy, which is named in honor of the head coach who led the Boston Celtics to nine NBA championships from 1956 to 1966. The winner is selected at the end of the regular season by a panel of sportswriters from the United States and Canada, each of whom casts a vote for first, second and third place selections. Each first-place vote is worth five points; each second-place vote is worth three points; and each third-place vote is worth one point. The person with the highest point total, regardless of the number of first-place votes, wins the award.
Dwane Lyndon Casey is an American basketball coach who most recently served as the head coach of the Detroit Pistons before transitioning to a front office position with the team. He is a former NCAA basketball player and coach, having played and coached there for over a decade before moving on to the NBA. He was previously the head coach of the Minnesota Timberwolves and the Toronto Raptors, with whom he won the NBA Coach of the Year Award in 2018.
Alan Jeffery Anderson is an American former professional basketball player. He played for eight seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) with the Charlotte Bobcats, Toronto Raptors, Brooklyn Nets, Washington Wizards and Los Angeles Clippers. Anderson also played internationally in Italy, Russia, Croatia, Israel, Spain and China.
Nicholas David Nurse is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is the head coach for the Philadelphia 76ers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He previously served as head coach for the Toronto Raptors, whom he led to an NBA championship in 2019 and with whom he was named the NBA Coach of the Year in 2020.
Howard James "Jay" Triano is a Canadian basketball coach and former professional player, who is currently an assistant coach for the Sacramento Kings of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He previously served as the head coach of the NBA's Toronto Raptors and the interim head coach of the Phoenix Suns. A former Canada national team player who competed in two Olympics, he has also had two stints as head coach of the national team.
The 2008–09 NBA season was the 63rd season of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Orlando Magic in the 2009 NBA Finals, four games to one.
The 1995 NBA expansion draft was the tenth expansion draft in the history of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on June 24, 1995, so that the newly founded Toronto Raptors and Vancouver Grizzlies could acquire players for the upcoming 1995–96 season. Toronto was awarded an expansion team on September 30, 1993, while Vancouver was awarded the league's 29th franchise on April 27, 1994. They were the first NBA teams based in Canada since the 1946–47 season Toronto Huskies.
The 2008–09 Toronto Raptors season is the 14th season of the franchise in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Before the season began, six-time NBA All-Star and center Jermaine O'Neal was acquired to complement Chris Bosh in the frontcourt. 17 games into the season, head coach Sam Mitchell was fired and replaced by Jay Triano. The Raptors went into the All-Star break 13 games under .500, and O'Neal was traded to Miami for Shawn Marion. The Raptors continued to struggle, and were eliminated from the playoff race with seven games of the regular season remaining.
The 2011–12 NBA season was the 66th season of the National Basketball Association (NBA), which began with the signing of a new collective bargaining agreement (CBA) between the owners of the 30 NBA teams and the NBA's players. The previous CBA, which was ratified in 2005, expired at 12:01 am EDT on July 1, 2011, resulting in a lockout. With the new deal in place, the regular season was shortened from the normal 82 games per team to 66, because of nearly two months of inactivity. This was the league's first season since 1991–92 without Shaquille O'Neal, who announced his retirement on June 1, 2011, via social media. A 4-time champion, O'Neal played 19 years for the Orlando Magic, Los Angeles Lakers, Miami Heat, Phoenix Suns, Cleveland Cavaliers, and Boston Celtics. The season began on Christmas Day 2011, and ended on April 26, 2012. The playoffs started on April 28 and ended on June 21 when the Miami Heat defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 5 of their series, 121–106, winning the Finals, 4–1 and to capture the franchise's second NBA title. LeBron James was named both the season MVP and the NBA Finals MVP. The NBA regular season would not begin again in December until the 2020–21 NBA season.
The 2013–14 Toronto Raptors season is the 19th season of the franchise in the National Basketball Association (NBA). In the offseason, they traded Andrea Bargnani away to the New York Knicks for a 2016 first-round draft pick, a 2014 second-round draft pick, a 2017 second-round draft pick, Steve Novak, Quentin Richardson and Marcus Camby. The Raptors were not expected to make the 2014 playoffs however, with a weak Atlantic Division they found themselves as contenders for the Atlantic Division title despite an early losing record. 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. The Rudy Gay trade was marked as a turning point for the Raptors as they went on a 10-2 run from a 6-12 record maintaining their division lead and finishing the season with a 48-34 record, their best in franchise history at that time, qualifying for the playoffs for the first time since 2008. The record consisted of a 26-15 home record, their best since 2001, and a 22-19 road record, their best in franchise history at that time. They also clinched the Atlantic Division title and the No. 3 seed for the first time since 2007. However, the Raptors were eliminated by the Brooklyn Nets led by Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett in an intense seven game first round series.
The 2018–19 Detroit Pistons season was the 78th season of the franchise, the 71st in the National Basketball Association (NBA), and the second in Midtown Detroit. This was the first season under new head coach Dwane Casey.
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.
