Founded on September 30, 1993, the Raptors will have to wait a little over two years before making their NBA debut in the 1995/96 fiscal year. Forty-nine years later, Canada – and more specifically the city of Toronto – once again welcomed a Great League franchise to its territory.
The anomaly is thus repaired for this country, which has a particular attachment to basketball. Because in addition to being the land of origin of the inventor of this sport – Dr. James Naismith – and having played a leading role in the creation of the BAA (ancestor of the NBA), it is also the venue where the very first BAA match in history took place.
At the time, it was indeed in Ontario that the meeting between the Toronto Huskies and the New York Knicks took place. On November 1, 1946, more than 7,000 people gathered in the Maple Leafs Garden to attend this historic poster, which will see New Yorkers narrowly win (68-66).
Since this 1946/47 season, at the end of which the leaders of the Huskies finally put the key under the door (lack of interest in the franchise and therefore of profitability), Canada has been weaned from American professional basketball. Until that famous evening in November 1995.
Celebrate Canada
Canadian fans were even spoiled that night as there were not one but two teams from the “maple leaf country” launched on November 3rd. In addition to the Toronto Raptors, the Vancouver Grizzlies were also taking their first steps in the NBA (victory with the Blazers). If the city of Vancouver no longer has any franchise today, Toronto is fortunate to be able to celebrate the 27th anniversary of its official beginnings.
And for their inaugural match, the Raptors faced the Nets at the SkyDome, this multi-sports arena with a maximum capacity of 50,000 seats! For the occasion, only 33,306 people came to watch this duel, which was not the most attractive of all, on paper.
At that time, while the New Jersey franchise, orphaned by Derrick Coleman and now led by the duo Kenny Anderson – Armen Gilliam, had a relatively modest level, Toronto relied on a heterogeneous workforce and without collective experience, with lead rookie Damon Stoudamire.
However, unlike their opponents, the Canadians could count on this extra soul brought on by the weight of history.
A memorable opening night
Damon Stoudamire, Alvin Robertson, Ed Pinckney, Carlos Rogers and Zan Tabak make up the Raptors’ first-ever starting five. In an electric atmosphere, they will also quickly take control of this part, never to let go.
Carried by a gala Alvin Robertson, the men of Brendan Malone (Michael’s father…) took the lead after a quarter (21-17). They will then gradually grow their lead, in order to return to the locker room by being ahead by 13 points (46-33). In control, Toronto will not weaken further in the second half and will finally win with the score of 94 to 79.
Back on the floor after two and a half years of absence, due to a back injury, Alvin Robertson shone with a thousand lights that evening. The 1986 Defender of the Year, who will retire at the end of the 1995/96 season, ended this meeting with 30 points (11/14 on shots), 7 rebounds, 4 assists and 5 steals! As for Damon Stoudamire, he managed a double-double (10 points, 10 assists) for his debut in the NBA.
Unable to resist the Canadian surge, the Nets lost sharply in this opening game, allowing an entire franchise to start its adventure in the Great League in the best possible way.
A clearing in the Canadian fog
However, this success of the Raptors will unfortunately not herald an exercise synonymous with success for them. They will actually end it with a sad (but logical) record of 21 wins and 61 losses, synonymous with 14th place in the Eastern Conference. However, they will console themselves with the third highest attendance in the NBA (23,178 average spectators), just behind the Hornets and the Bulls.
During its inaugural campaign, however, Toronto would stand out as one of nine (the Pacers did it twice) teams to defeat Chicago in March 1996. At that time, Illinois players were simply on their way to a record season: 72 wins and 10 losses!
Other (rare) good news in the Canadian landscape: the Rookie of the Year trophy obtained by Damon Stoudamire. Author of 19.0 points, 4.0 rebounds, 9.3 assists and 1.4 steals per game, the 7th choice of the 1995 Draft was destined to become the one who would bring the franchise from Ontario to the playoffs. He will not succeed, however, since the Raptors will finally have to wait for the arrival of Vince Carter in 1998 in order to definitively launch their ascent.
Article originally published in 2020
