History of the Toronto Raptors

90s - Family Reunion

The Raptors’ franchise began in 1995 and it didn’t take long for them to find their first superstar in Tracy McGrady. The next year they hit again in the draft, taking McGrady’s cousin out of UNC, Vince Carter. Together they became one of the most exciting and athletic NBA duos, but it was short lived when McGrady left the team for Orlando in 2000.

00s - Another Star

Carter blossomed into more of a star but the Raptors didn’t find much success as a team in the playoffs. Eventually, Carter was traded to the Nets allowing another budding star to grow. Chris Bosh then took charge being named to the all star team from 2006-2010. They took struggled to win in the playoffs resulting in back-to-back first round exits.

10s - Dream Season

After Bosh left for Miami, the team decided to rebuild around Demar Derozan. After adding Kyle Lowry along with key role players such as Jonas Valanciunas and Serge Ibaka, they began to make some playoff runs. They consistently fell short in either the second or third round and decided they needed a change. In 2018 they fire head coach Dwane Casey just after winning Coach of the Year to hire Nick Nurse and also trade away Demar Derozan for Kawhi Leonard on the last year of his contract. This all paid off as Kawhi took them to the finals and beat the Warriors to win their first ring.