Saturday, July 26, 2008

Toronto Raptors

The Toronto Raptors are a professional basketball team based in Toronto. They are part of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference in the NBA. Like most expansion teams, the Raptors struggled in their early years, but after the acquisition of Vince Carter through a draft day trade in 1998, the team set league attendance records and made the NBA Playoffs in 2000, 2001, and 2002. Carter was instrumental in leading the team to their first playoff series win in 2001, where they advanced to the Eastern Conference Semifinals. During the 2002–03 and 2003–04 seasons, they failed to make significant progress and he was traded in 2004. After Carter left, Chris Bosh emerged as the team leader, but they continued to struggle. However, with the appointment of Bryan Colangelo as General Manager and a revamp of the roster for the 2006–07 season, they qualified for their first playoff berth in five years and captured their first division title. In the following season, they advanced to the playoffs again.

NBA - Canada - Toronto

The National Basketball Association (NBA) is North America's premier professional men's basketball league, composed of thirty teams; twenty-nine in the USA, and one in Canada. It is an active member of USA Basketball, which is recognized by the International Basketball Federation as the National Governing Body for basketball in the United States. The NBA is one of the four major North American professional sports leagues, which also includes the National Hockey League, the National Football League, and Major League Baseball.
The league was founded in New York City, on June 6, 1946 as the Basketball Association of America. The league adopted the name National Basketball Association in 1949 after merging with the rival National Basketball League.