About the Toronto Raptors

As the Toronto Raptors neared their scheduled home opener at the SkyDome on November 3, 1995, club President John I. Bitove could congratulate himself on having achieved a remarkable goal.

Bringing NBA basketball back to Toronto, where the long-forgotten Toronto Huskies had tipped off against the New York Knickerbockers in 1946, had been an difficult process, fraught with obstacls. It had not been such a struggle a half-century ago, when the Huskies became a member of the Basketball Association of America, the forerunner of the NBA. In fact, Toronto had hosted the new league's first game on November 1, 1946, when the New York Knicks beat the Huskies, 68-66. However the Toronto franchise folded at the end of the 1946-47 season and the NBA wouldn't return to Canada for nearly 50 years.

The Raptors officially became an NBA franchise on May 16, 1995, and the work of building the team began. Toronto held its first free-agent camp at Seneca College, under Brendan Malone, a longtime assistant with the Pistons. Although Thomas was well aware of Malone's talents on the basketball court, he had never pictured him in a head coaching role until he listened in on the motivational talk Malone had with the crew of career minor leaguers and journeymen who had turned up in search of the NBA dream.

Five days after camp closed, Thomas introduced Malone as the team's first head coach. Thomas wanted someone who was not only a teacher but also had the maturity to deal with what would inevitably be a number of losing seasons. Malone, for his part, emphasized defense and rebounding as a key for the new club.

Fast forwarding six years later and the Raptors are a formidable team indeed. After a few loosing seasons the Raptors have had the benefit of high draft picks and were able to snag Vince Carter after a a deal with the Golden State Warriors. Carter is a power player who preffers to drive to the hoop and dunk instead of pulling up for a fade away. His athletiscism alone helps his defense and he soars over defenders for rebounds on either end of the court. Injuries aside, if Carter stays healthy for the remainder of his career he is a lock for the hall of fame.

Additionally the Raptors have some great role players that will help take some of the heat of Carters back. Rafer Alston is the starter att the point and is adept at getting the ball to his teammates, especially Vinsanity. He is an excellent free throw shooter and is accurate from behind the arc. Small forward Jalen Rose is one of the best outside shooters in the league. Alston will look for Jalen on the perimeter and his .443 career field goal percentage and .347 three point accuracy will do the rest. Power forward Chris Bosh is coming into his second year and will start for the Raptors. Bosh is a no frills interior man who will fight for rebounds and put the ball back in the hoop on missed shots.

The Raptors are looking to make a move at the Finals Championship this year, with the addition of Jalen Rose and the continual development of Vince Carter, the Raptors now have the weapons on offense to do it!