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Toronto Raptors
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The Toronto Raptors are a professional basketball team based in Toronto, Ontario. They are part of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association (NBA). The team was established in 1995, along with the Vancouver Grizzlies, as part of the NBA's expansion into Canada. When the Grizzlies relocated to Memphis, Tennessee in 2001, the Raptors became the only Canadian team in the NBA. They originally played their home games in the SkyDome, before moving to the Air Canada Centre (ACC) in 1999.
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Having dropped 81 big ones on the unsuspecting Toronto Raptors yesterday, Kobe Bryant certainly is preparing well for his full reinstatement as a celebrity endorser. The Los Angeles Lakers star is recapturing his old form in style. (The Sports Illustrated cover shown here is from March 2003, a few months before he was accused of rape—charges that were eventually dropped. This season he’s averaging something like 35 points a game.) Bryant appeared in a two-page Nike ad in SI last July, but this winter he will make an even splashier return by marketing his first Nike signature shoe, the Zoom Kobe I, according to the Los Angeles Times. A TV commercial featuring Bryant will debut during the All-Star break next month. Bryant has not discussed the ad other than to say it will be “simple, true to form.”
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Nowadays, the Toronto Raptors have an outstanding, but success-starved fan bottom. Despite having only one playoff series conquest in franchise history, the Raptors carry on to draw attendances in the top half of the NBA. The team is recognized to have one of the largest and most fervent fan bases in the NBA, this is in fraction due to the high fame of basketball in Canada , which is a astonishing factor due to the number of die-hard ice hockey fans in the country. The Raptors have struggle especially after the trade away of Vince Carter, in which the team conventional relatively little in return. In an effort to change this, the Raptors fired General Manager Rob Babcock and replace him with interim GM Wayne Embry on January 26, 2006. On February 27, 2006, the team named previous Phoenix Suns President and GM Bryan Colangelo, the 2005 NBA managerial of the Year, the President and universal Manager of the Raptors.
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Currently, the Toronto Raptors have very devoted, but success-starved fans. Having only one playoff series victory in their long history, the Toronto Raptors continue to attract many spectators to their games. The Toronto Raptors is the only team, which was granted permission to have their own TV Station so that they could broadcast games nationally. This can be explained by the fact that they are Canadians, and are the country’s star team loved by the whole nation. The team has gone through some difficult times especially after trading away Vince Carter. The team was determined to do something to change the situation, and decided to fire General Manager Rob Babcock.
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The Toronto Raptors joined the NBA in 1995 as an expansion team along with the Vancouver Grizzlies. The Raptors played their home games at the Skydome from 1995 through 1999. The Raptors first head coach was Brendon Malone, who was replaced by Darrell Walker after only 1 season, and their first star player was Damon Stoudamire. The Raptors first General Manager was legendary Detroit Piston Player, Isiah Thomas. The Raptors finished their inaugural season with 21 wins, good enough for 8th place in the division, just ahead of the 76ers and 6 games better than their counterparts the Grizzlies. The Raptors struggled for their first 4 seasons in the NBA including a league low 16 wins in 1998.
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The Toronto Raptors won a coin toss with the Grizzlies for the right to the first pick in the 1995 NBA expansion draft, in which the new teams would each select one player from an existing NBA team. The Raptors selected guard B. J. Armstrong of the Chicago Bulls. They then traded Armstrong to the Golden State Warriors in exchange for forward Carlos Rogers and center Victor Alexander. In the regular draft of college players, the Toronto Raptors selected guard Damon Stoudamire. In the team?s inaugural season, Stoudamire led the Raptors in scoring with an average of 19 points per game, finished fifth in the league in assists with 9.3 per game, and won the rookie of the year award. The Raptors finished the season with a 21-61 win-loss record.
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