The Toronto Raptors are a National Basketball Association team that joined the league as an expansion franchise for the 1995-96 season. They won the NBA championship in June 2019 by beating the Golden State Warriors four games to two, the first title won by a team based outside the United States, according to The Canadian Encyclopedia. Since February 1999 the team has played at the arena now called Scotiabank Arena.
The sports history overview covers all of the city’s major clubs in short form. This page follows only the basketball story: the 1993 bid, the choice of a name, two seasons in a baseball dome, the move to a purpose-built arena, and the championship parade of 2019. Player careers and individual records are left to the league’s own pages.
Basketball in Toronto before 1995
Professional basketball in the city is older than the Raptors. The Canadian Encyclopedia records that the Toronto Huskies of the Basketball Association of America hosted that league’s first game on November 1, 1946, losing to the New York Knickerbockers at Maple Leaf Gardens. The Huskies folded after that single season, which the article describes as marked by low attendance and a record of 22 wins and 38 losses. The Canadian Encyclopedia’s separate Huskies article says the owners reportedly lost $100,000 and calls it Canada’s first professional basketball team. Between 1971 and 1975 the Buffalo Braves played 16 regular-season games at the Gardens. The building itself is covered in the Maple Leaf Gardens article.
The 1993 bid and the award
In April 1993 a group called Professional Basketball Franchise (Canada) Inc. applied for an NBA team. The Encyclopedia says it was led by John Bitove and included David Peterson, a former premier of Ontario, and Isiah Thomas, a former Detroit Pistons player. In July 1993 the group presented a plan for a downtown arena on a subway line to an NBA expansion committee. On September 30, 1993, it was conditionally awarded a franchise for the 1995-96 season. The article calls the club the league’s 28th team and reports a record expansion fee of $125 million; it does not name the currency.
The name came from a public vote in 1994. Fans chose from 10 options, and the Raptors name was unveiled on Canadian national television on May 15, 1994, along with the team colors of red, purple, black, and “Naismith silver.”
Two seasons at SkyDome
While its own arena was built, the team played its first two seasons at SkyDome, now Rogers Centre, according to The Canadian Encyclopedia. The Encyclopedia does not give a date or score for the first regular-season game. Wikipedia’s season article, a secondary source, states that it was played at SkyDome on November 3, 1995, a 94-79 win over the New Jersey Nets, but no league page could be read to confirm it. The dome is described further in the article on Rogers Centre and other modern landmarks.
The Air Canada Centre opens, 1999
The Scotiabank Arena history page, the building’s own record, gives the opening details. Groundbreaking was in February 1997, on the site of the former Canada Post Delivery Building, with the east and south walls kept. The architects were Brisbin Brook Beynon. The first Maple Leafs game was on February 20, 1999, and the first Raptors game followed on February 21, 1999, against the Grizzlies. The Tragically Hip played the opening concert on February 22.
The Encyclopedia lists the 1999-2000 season as the first in the new building. The arena was named the Air Canada Centre until June 2018 and has been Scotiabank Arena since July 2018.
Playoff years and rebuilding, 1999 to 2013
The Encyclopedia describes the team’s first playoff appearance in 1999-2000, when it was swept by the New York Knicks. A year later it won a first-round series and lost a seven-game Eastern Conference semifinal to the Philadelphia 76ers, 88-87 in the deciding game. After that the article describes a long rebuilding period. Coaches and general managers changed repeatedly, the team made the playoffs in 2006-07 and 2007-08, and it then finished below .500 for five straight seasons. Leadership changed again in 2013, when Masai Ujiri became general manager and president.
Fan culture: We The North
The Encyclopedia says the “We The North” campaign, developed by the team’s creative agency Sid Lee in late 2013, became the team’s rallying cry. It also notes that the outdoor viewing area outside the arena, officially the Ford Fan Zone, was nicknamed “Jurassic Park” by fans.
The 2019 championship
The Encyclopedia says the team reached the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time in 2015-16, and that in 2018-19 it won a division title and beat Milwaukee in the Eastern Conference Finals after trailing two games to none. In June 2019 it defeated the Warriors 4-2 in the NBA Finals, clinching with a 114-110 win in Game 6 in Oakland. A championship parade was held on June 17, 2019, with a rally at Nathan Phillips Square. CBC News reported that the event had organizational problems, including hours of delays and long waits without water for many spectators, and that the square was at full capacity.
The Encyclopedia describes it as the first championship won by a team outside the United States.
| Date | Event | Source |
|---|---|---|
| November 1, 1946 | Huskies host the first game in BAA history at Maple Leaf Gardens | Canadian Encyclopedia |
| September 30, 1993 | Conditional award of an expansion franchise | Canadian Encyclopedia |
| May 1994 | Raptors name unveiled | Canadian Encyclopedia |
| 1995-96 | First season, at SkyDome | Canadian Encyclopedia |
| February 21, 1999 | First Raptors game at the new arena | Scotiabank Arena |
| June 2019 | First NBA championship | Canadian Encyclopedia |
| June 17, 2019 | Parade to Nathan Phillips Square | Canadian Encyclopedia |
Frequently asked questions
When did the Toronto Raptors start playing?
The franchise was conditionally awarded on September 30, 1993, and began play in the 1995-96 season, with its first two seasons at SkyDome.
When did the Raptors win the NBA championship?
In June 2019, when they beat the Golden State Warriors four games to two. It was the franchise’s first title.
Who founded the Raptors?
The franchise was awarded to Professional Basketball Franchise (Canada) Inc., a group led by John Bitove that included David Peterson and Isiah Thomas, according to The Canadian Encyclopedia.
Where do the Raptors play?
At Scotiabank Arena, which opened in February 1999 as the Air Canada Centre and took its present name in July 2018.
Did Toronto have professional basketball before the Raptors?
Yes. The Toronto Huskies played in the Basketball Association of America and hosted the league’s first game on November 1, 1946.
Related reading
- The Maple Leafs, who share the arena
- The Blue Jays at the dome
- The harbour and waterfront nearby
- The CN Tower, next to the arena district
- All of Toronto’s major professional teams
Sources
- Adam Francis and Julian Apolinario, “Toronto Raptors,” The Canadian Encyclopedia, Historica Canada
- Dave Zarum, “Toronto Huskies,” The Canadian Encyclopedia, Historica Canada, 2018
- Scotiabank Arena, “History”
- CBC News, “Raptors Toronto victory parade marred by organizational problems” (June 2019)
- Wikipedia, “1995-96 Toronto Raptors season” (secondary source, used only for the first-game date)
Last verified: October 2026
Cite this page
APA: History of Toronto. (2026, October 25). Toronto Raptors history: from the 1993 bid to the 2019 title. https://historyoftoronto.ca/blog/toronto-raptors-history
MLA: “Toronto Raptors history: from the 1993 bid to the 2019 title.” History of Toronto, 25 Oct. 2026, https://historyoftoronto.ca/blog/toronto-raptors-history. Accessed .
Chicago: History of Toronto. “Toronto Raptors history: from the 1993 bid to the 2019 title.” Last modified October 25, 2026. https://historyoftoronto.ca/blog/toronto-raptors-history.
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