The NBA Toronto Raptors play in the Eastern Conference of the Atlantic Division as part of the National Basketball Association. The Raptors were established in 1995 and were part of the expansion of the NBA into Canada along with the Vancouver Grizzlies. In 2001, the Grizzlies moved to Memphis, Tennessee, leaving the Raptors as the only team from Canada in the NBA. Originally, the Raptors home games were played at the SkyDome (which in 2005 was renamed the Rogers Centre). In 1999, they moved into Air Canada Centre.

The Raptors, like a majority of expansion teams during their early years, struggled. In 1998, the team was able to acquire Vince Carter via a trade on draft day. In 2000, 2001, 2002 Toronto made it into the NBA Playoffs and set new attendance records for the league. Carter helped lead the Raptors to their first win of a playoff series in 2001. Toronto made it into the Eastern Conference Semifinal series.

In 2002 as well as 2003-04, The Raptors didn’t make any significant progress. In 2004, Toronto traded Vince Carter to the New Jersey Nets. Chris Bosh developed into the Raptors team leader after the departure of Carter. However, the team still continued struggling. In 2006-07, Bryan Colangelo became General Manager and the roster was revamped. For the first time in five years, the Raptors made it into the playoffs and won the franchise’s first division title. The next season the Raptors made it into the playoffs again. In 2009-2010, Toronto overhauled their roster in a attempt to convince Bosh to stay with the team after his contract expired. However, Toronto didn’t make the playoffs. Bosh signed in July 2010 with Miami Heat, which signaled the start of a new era in Toronto.