The final top ten names were mostly animal names and the final choice was the Toronto Raptors. This name was influenced by the great dinosaur film, Jurassic Park. The team’s first General Manager, Isiah Thomas, was revealed to the public in a press conference as were the team logo and colors of purple, red, silver and black.

By 1995, Isiah Thomas had built his team well with head coach Brendan Malone. He included players like Victor Alexander, Willie Anderson, Jerome Kersey and John Salley. He drafted Damon Stoudamire whom he built his team around. This team went on to win their first NBA game against the New Jersey Nets. In 1996, the Raptors were able to defeat teams like Chicago Bulls, Houston Rockets and Miami Heat who all went on to reach conference finals but strangely enough lost to many of the less successful teams like the Boston Celtics.

The Raptors made it to the playoffs in 1999, 2000 and 2001. They were unable to make the conference finals though. In 2001, they were the only NBA team in Canada as the Vancouver Grizzlies moved to Memphis. That year, their star Vince Carter was unable to play most games due to an injury and they had a poor season. Carter was eventually traded for Alonzo Mourning, Eric and Aaron Williams. Mourning refused to report to Toronto. He went on to sign on with the Miami Heat instead.

The Raptors had a few poor years after that. But they made a come back in 2006 when they won their first ever Atlantic Division title and made it to the playoffs after a gap of five years. A few changes were made in the team and players like Anthony Parker, T J Ford, Carlos Delfino and Jason Capono were added. In April 2007, the Raptors beat the New Jersey Nets to win the first round of the playoffs, their first playoff win in five years.

The Raptors have the distinction of being the only NBA team to have a television station of their own, Raptors NBA TV. The Raptors also have a charitable foundation called the Raptors Foundation. They support local organizations which give the youth opportunities to participate in recreational activities. They have two more community service programs, Raptors Community Relations and Raptors Basketball Development, both of which are dedicated to basketball development.

The Current Staff

The Raptors are currently owned by the Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment Ltd. They have been playing their home games at the Air Canada Center since 1999. The head coach is Sam Mitchell and general manager is Bryan Colangelo.