Toronto Raptors Logo — Toronto Raptors is a team of the NBA based in Toronto, Ontario. Entered the league after the expansion that took place in 1995, along with the Vancouver Grizzlies. After the march to Memphis of the latter in 2001, the Raptors were the only team outside the borders of the United States. The Toronto Raptors were established on September 30 of 1993, when the NBA decided to expand the borders and allow teams Canadians. He became the franchise number 28 in the league, becoming the first professional basketball team in the city of Toronto since the demise of the Toronto Huskies in the 40’s.

A nationwide competition helped to choose the franchise name and team logo. Among the 10 finalists had a large majority of animal names, such as the Beavers (Beavers), but ultimately, influenced by the popularity at that time of the movie Jurassic Park, it was decided by the nickname of the extinct animal. On May 15th of 1994, its first General Manager, former player Isiah Thomas, presented to the media the name and logo. The colors chosen were red, purple, black and silver, chosen in honor of the inventor of basketball, Canadian James Naismith. The team originally competed in the Central Division, and before the inaugural season would start, sales of the Raptors were the seventh in the league, which meant a total success the return of professional basketball in Canada.

As General Manager, Thomas was surrounded by people you trust to positions of responsibility of the team, offering the assistant coach of Detroit Pistons, Brendan Malone, the head coach position. The team was supplemented by an expansion draft in which the two teams could choose new equipment discards the rest of the league. A coin toss decided it was Toronto who chose first, picking BJ Armstrong, a specialist in 3-point shots. This, however, refused to play in Canada, being traded to Golden State Warriors in exchange for Carlos Rogers and Victor Alexander. Thomas also selected a good group of veterans in the league, as Jerome Kersey, Willie Anderson and her ex-partner in the Pistons John “Spider” Salley. Then came the NBA Draft of 1995, which elected in second place, winning Damon Stoudamire, a point guard scorer of the University of Arizona, about which Thomas wanted to build the franchise. There were many fans who criticized the decision, but soon found that such criticisms were unfounded.

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