1995–96 Toronto Raptors season

1995–96 Toronto Raptors season
Inaugural season
Head coach	Brendan Malone
Owner(s)	John Bitove, Allan Slaight, Isiah Thomas
Arena	SkyDome Copps Coliseum
Results
Record	21–61 (.256)
Place	Division: 8th (Central) Conference: 14th (Eastern)
Playoff finish	Did not qualify
Stats @ Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
Television	TSN, CKVR
Radio	CFRB

The 1995–96 NBA season was the Toronto Raptors' first season in the team's franchise.^[1] The Raptors, along with the Vancouver Grizzlies, played their first games in 1995, and were the first NBA teams to play in Canada since the 1946–47 Toronto Huskies.^[2] Former Detroit Pistons star Isiah Thomas became the team's General Manager. In their debut, the Raptors defeated the New Jersey Nets at the SkyDome, 94–79, but went on a 7-game losing streak afterwards. At midseason, the team acquired Sharone Wright from the Philadelphia 76ers and Doug Christie from the New York Knicks. The Raptors finished last place in the Central Division with a 21–61 record. Top draft pick Damon Stoudamire was named Rookie of The Year. Following the season, Tracy Murray signed as a free agent with the Washington Bullets, Oliver Miller signed with the Dallas Mavericks and Alvin Robertson retired.

Offseason

Expansion draft

The team's roster was then filled as a result of an expansion draft in 1995. Following a coin flip, Toronto was given first choice and selected Chicago Bulls point guard and three-point specialist B. J. Armstrong. Armstrong refused to report for training and Thomas promptly traded him to the Golden State Warriors for power forwards Carlos Rogers and Victor Alexander.^[2] Thomas then selected a wide range of players in the expansion draft.

Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	Former Team
1	B. J. Armstrong	Point guard	United States	Chicago Bulls
3	Tony Massenburg	Forward	United States	Los Angeles Clippers
5	Andrés Guibert	Forward-Centre	Cuba	Minnesota Timberwolves
7	Keith Jennings	Point guard	United States	Golden State Warriors
9	Dontonio Wingfield	Forward	United States	Seattle SuperSonics
11	Doug Smith	Forward	United States	Dallas Mavericks
13	Jerome Kersey	Small forward	United States	Portland Trail Blazers
15	Žan Tabak	Centre	Croatia	Houston Rockets
17	Willie Anderson	Guard-Forward	United States	San Antonio Spurs
19	Ed Pinckney	Forward	United States	Milwaukee Bucks
21	Acie Earl	Centre	United States	Boston Celtics
23	B. J. Tyler	Point guard	United States	Philadelphia 76ers
25	John Salley	Power forward	United States	Miami Heat
27	Oliver Miller	Centre	United States	Detroit Pistons

NBA Draft

Main article: 1995 NBA Draft

Subsequent to the expansion draft, Toronto was given the second pick, after the Vancouver Grizzlies, in the 1995 NBA draft. They selected Damon Stoudamire, a point guard out of University of Arizona, around whom Thomas chose to base the franchise. The selection of Stoudamire was met with boos from fans at the 1995 NBA Draft at the SkyDome in Toronto, many of whom wanted Ed O'Bannon of UCLA, an NCAA Final Four MVP.^[2]

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	School/Club Team
1	7	Damon Stoudamire	Point Guard	United States	Arizona
2	35	Jimmy King	Shooting Guard	United States	Michigan

Roster

Toronto Raptors roster

Players

Coaches

Pos.	No.	Name	Height	Weight	DOB (YYYY–MM–DD)
2.0 !SG	13	USA !	Christie, Doug	7000198120000000000♠6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	Pepperdine
6.0 !C	55	USA !	Earl, Acie	7000208279999999999♠6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	240 lb (109 kg)	Iowa
1.0 !PG	4	ITA !	Esposito, Vincenzo	7000190500000000000♠6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	198 lb (90 kg)
2.0 !SG	24	USA !	King, Jimmy	7000195580000000000♠6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	Michigan
3.0 !SF	44	USA !	Lewis, Martin	7000195580000000000♠6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	Seward County CC
6.0 !C	30	USA !	Miller, Oliver	7000205740000000000♠6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	280 lb (127 kg)	Arkansas
3.0 !SF	35	USA !	Murray, Tracy	7000200659999999999♠6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	225 lb (102 kg)	UCLA
2.0 !SG	7	USA !	Robertson, Alvin	7000190500000000000♠6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	Arkansas
4.5 !PF	34	USA !	Rogers, Carlos	7000210820000000000♠6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)	220 lb (100 kg)	Tennessee State
1.0 !PG	20	USA !	Stoudamire, Damon	7000177800000000000♠5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)	171 lb (78 kg)	Arizona
6.0 !C	3	CRO !	Tabak, Žan	7000213360000000000♠7 ft 0 in (2.13 m)	245 lb (111 kg)	Croatia
4.5 !PF	23	USA !	Whitfield, Dwayne	7000205740000000000♠6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	240 lb (109 kg)	Jackson State
4.5 !PF	9	USA !	Wright, Sharone	7000210820000000000♠6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)	260 lb (118 kg)	Clemson

Head coach

Brendan Malone

Assistant coach(es)

Legend

(C) Team captain
(DP) Unsigned draft pick
(FA) Free agent
(S) Suspended
Injured

Roster • Transactions

The first game

The Raptors first ever game was played on November 3, 1995, against the New Jersey Nets at the SkyDome in front of 33,306 fans. Alvin Robertson scored the first points in Raptors history, as he hit a three pointer to give Toronto an early 3-0 lead. The Raptors were led by Robertson, who scored a team high 30 points, as well as Damon Stoudamire, who had a double double in his first career game, scoring 10 points and adding 10 assists, as the Raptors defeated the Nets 94-79.^[3]

Regular season

The team played its first season in the Central Division,^[4] and before the inaugural season began, sales of Raptors merchandise ranked seventh in the league, marking a successful return of basketball to Canada.^[2] As GM, Isiah Thomas quickly staffed the management positions with his own personnel, naming long-time Detroit Pistons assistant Brendan Malone as the Raptors' head coach.^[2]

The Skydome — now the Rogers Centre — was the original arena for the Raptors between 1995–1999.

The Raptors concluded their inaugural season with a 21–61 win-loss record,^[4] although they were one of the nine teams to defeat the 1995–96 Chicago Bulls,^[5] who set an NBA best 72–10 win–loss regular season record. With averages of 19.0 points and 9.3 assists per game, Stoudamire also won the 1995–96 Rookie of the Year Award.^[6]

Highs

December 10, 1995, The Raptors play the Vancouver Grizzlies for the first time. The game is held at General Motors Place in Vancouver. The Raptors win the game by a score of 93-81.
March 24, 1996 – The Raptors beat the eventual NBA Champion Chicago Bulls by a score of 109-108. Michael Jordan attempted to win the game on the final shot. Though the ball went in, it did not count because the ball left his hand after the final buzzer.
March 31, 1996 – The legendary Magic Johnson played his only game against the Toronto Raptors in Toronto. The Los Angeles Lakers won the game by a score of 111-106.

Stoudamire's breakout year

Stoudamire had a noteworthy rookie season with the Toronto Raptors averaging 9.3 assists and 19 points. He earned the nickname "Mighty Mouse" due to the fact he stands only 5'10" (1.77 m), and that he had a Mighty Mouse tattoo on his right arm going into his rookie season. Damon currently holds the record of having the third-highest assist average ever by a rookie, and rookie record setter for 3-pointers with 133, breaking the 3-point record previously held by Dennis Scott. Damon was ranked second in scoring among all rookies in his rookie season, and led all rookies in minutes played and assists. He received the Shick Rookie of the Month Award twice and unanimously made the Shick All Rookie First Team. That same year Stoudamire was also awarded the Rookie of the Year Award for the 1995–1996 season, receiving 76 of the 113 possible votes and the Most Valuable Player of the All-Star Rookie Game. Stoudamire holds the record for being the second-lowest draft pick (seventh overall) to ever win the Rookie of the Year Award, the lowest being Mark Jackson (eighteenth overall). Damon is also known as the shortest player at 5'10" to ever win this award. He did not play the last 10 games of his rookie season due to an injury, Tendinitis in his left knee. The Raptors went 1-5 without him and finished 21-61 in his and the Raptors' rookie season.

Lows

November 15, 1995 – The Raptors lose to the Houston Rockets by a score of 96 – 93. The loss culminates in a seven-game losing streak for the Raptors, the longest losing streak of the season.
February 29, 1996 – The seven-game losing streak was duplicated. In a loss to the San Antonio Spurs, the final score was 120 – 95.
March 29, 1996 – The Raptors suffer their worst loss of the season. The score was 126-86 in favour of the Orlando Magic. Prior to the game, Isiah Thomas and Brendan Malone got into an argument regarding playing time for rookies.

Season standings

Central Division	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Div
y-Chicago Bulls	72	10	.878	–	39–2	33–8	24–4
x-Indiana Pacers	52	30	.634	20	32–9	20–21	19–9
x-Cleveland Cavaliers	47	35	.573	25	26–15	21–20	13–15
x-Atlanta Hawks	46	36	.561	26	26–15	20–21	15–13
x-Detroit Pistons	46	36	.561	26	30–11	16–25	15–13
Charlotte Hornets	41	41	.500	31	25–16	16–25	13–15
Milwaukee Bucks	25	57	.305	47	14–27	11–30	8–20
Toronto Raptors	21	61	.256	51	15–26	6–35	5–23

Record vs. opponents

1995-96 NBA Records
Team	ATL	BOS	CHA	CHI	CLE	DAL	DEN	DET	GSW	HOU	IND	LAC	LAL	MIA	MIL	MIN	NJN	NYK	ORL	PHI	PHO	POR	SAC	SAS	SEA	TOR	UTA	VAN	WAS
Atlanta	—	4–0	3–1	0–4	3–1	1–1	1–1	2–2	1–1	1–1	1–3	2–0	0–2	2–2	2–2	1–1	4–0	2–1	2–2	2–1	0–2	2–0	2–0	0–2	0–2	4–0	1–1	2–0	1–3
Boston	0–4	—	2–2	0–3	1–3	0–2	1–1	2–1	0–2	1–1	0–4	2–0	0–2	3–1	3–1	2–0	2–2	0–4	1–3	4–0	1–1	0–2	2–0	0–2	0–2	3–1	0–2	1–1	2–2
Charlotte	1–3	2–2	—	1–3	3–1	2–0	2–0	1–3	0–2	0–2	1–3	1–1	2–0	2–2	3–1	1–1	0–3	3–0	0–4	3–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	0–2	0–2	3–1	1–1	2–0	3–1
Chicago	4–0	3–0	3–1	—	4–0	2–0	1–1	4–0	2–0	2–0	2–2	2–0	2–0	3–1	4–0	2–0	3–0	3–1	3–1	4–0	1–1	2–0	2–0	2–0	1–1	3–1	2–0	2–0	4–0
Cleveland	1–3	3–1	1–3	0–4	—	2–0	1–1	2–2	2–0	1–1	2–2	2–0	2–0	1–3	4–0	2–0	1–2	3–1	1–2	4–0	2–0	1–1	1–1	0–2	0–2	3–1	0–2	2–0	3–1
Dallas	1–1	2–0	0–2	0–2	0–2	—	2–2	0–2	2–2	1–3	0–2	2–2	0–4	0–2	1–1	0–4	1–1	0–2	1–1	0–2	1–3	0–4	2–2	2–2	2–2	1–1	1–3	4–0	0–2
Denver	1–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	1–1	2–2	—	1–1	2–2	1–3	0–2	1–3	2–2	0–2	1–1	4–0	0–2	1–1	1–1	2–0	3–1	0–4	0–4	0–4	1–3	2–0	3–1	3–1	1–1
Detroit	2–2	1–2	3–1	0–4	2–2	2–0	1–1	—	2–0	1–1	2–2	2–0	0–2	1–3	2–2	1–1	4–0	0–4	1–3	4–0	2–0	2–0	1–1	2–0	1–1	4–0	0–2	2–0	1–2
Golden State	1–1	2–0	2–0	0–2	0–2	2–2	2–2	0–2	—	2–2	1–1	3–1	1–3	1–1	1–1	3–1	2–0	0–2	0–2	2–0	1–3	1–3	1–3	1–3	0–4	1–1	1–3	4–0	1–1
Houston	1–1	1–1	2–0	0–2	1–1	3–1	3–1	1–1	2–2	—	2–0	4–0	3–1	0–2	2–0	2–2	2–0	0–2	0–2	2–0	3–1	2–2	2–2	1–3	0–4	2–0	2–2	4–0	1–1
Indiana	3–1	4–0	3–1	2–2	2–2	2–0	2–0	2–2	1–1	0–2	—	2–0	1–1	3–0	3–1	1–1	1–3	1–3	2–2	3–1	1–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	2–0	4–0	0–2	2–0	3–0
L.A. Clippers	0–2	0–2	1–1	0–2	0–2	2–2	3–1	0–2	1–3	0–4	0–2	—	0–4	1–1	1–1	3–1	1–1	1–1	0–2	2–0	3–1	2–2	2–2	1–3	0–4	0–2	1–3	3–1	1–1
L.A. Lakers	2–0	2–0	0–2	0–2	0–2	4–0	2–2	2–0	3–1	1–3	1–1	4–0	—	2–0	2–0	3–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	3–1	2–2	3–1	1–3	2–2	2–0	2–2	4–0	1–1
Miami	2–2	1–3	2–2	1–3	3–1	2–0	2–0	3–1	1–1	2–0	0–3	1–1	0–2	—	3–0	1–1	5–0	1–3	1–3	3–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	1–1	0–2	2–1	0–2	1–1	2–2
Milwaukee	2–2	1–3	1–3	0–4	0–4	1–1	1–1	2–2	1–1	0–2	1–3	1–1	0–2	0–3	—	1–1	1–3	2–2	1–3	2–1	0–2	2–0	0–2	1–1	0–2	2–2	0–2	1–1	1–3
Minnesota	1–1	0–2	1–1	0–2	0–2	4–0	0–4	1–1	1–3	2–2	1–1	1–3	1–3	1–1	1–1	—	1–1	0–2	0–2	1–1	1–3	0–4	3–1	1–3	0–4	1–1	1–3	2–2	0–2
New Jersey	0–4	2–2	3–0	0–3	2–1	1–1	2–0	0–4	0–2	0–2	3–1	1–1	0–2	0–5	3–1	1–1	—	2–2	0–4	2–2	0–2	1–1	1–1	0–2	0–2	2–2	0–2	2–0	2–2
New York	1–2	4–0	0–3	1–3	1–3	2–0	1–1	4–0	2–0	2–0	3–1	1–1	1–1	3–1	2–2	2–0	2–2	—	1–3	3–1	0–2	0–2	0–2	1–1	1–1	4–0	1–1	1–1	3–1
Orlando	2–2	3–1	4–0	1–3	2–1	1–1	1–1	3–1	2–0	2–0	2–2	2–0	1–1	3–1	3–1	2–0	4–0	3–1	—	4–0	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	2–1	1–1	2–0	4–0
Philadelphia	1–2	0–4	1–3	0–4	0–4	2–0	0–2	0–4	0–2	0–2	1–3	0–2	1–1	1–3	1–2	1–1	2–2	1–3	0–4	—	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–2	3–1	1–1	1–1	1–3
Phoenix	2–0	1–1	0–2	1–1	0–2	3–1	1–3	0–2	3–1	1–3	1–1	1–3	1–3	1–1	2–0	3–1	2–0	2–0	0–2	2–0	—	2–2	2–2	1–3	0–4	2–0	1–3	4–0	2–0
Portland	0–2	2–0	1–1	0–2	1–1	4–0	4–0	0–2	3–1	2–2	1–1	2–2	2–2	2–0	0–2	4–0	1–1	2–0	1–1	2–0	2–2	—	1–3	1–3	1–3	2–0	1–3	2–2	0–2
Sacramento	0–2	0–2	1–1	0–2	1–1	2–2	4–0	1–1	3–1	2–2	2–0	2–2	1–3	1–1	2–0	1–3	1–1	2–0	1–1	2–0	2–2	3–1	—	1–3	0–4	2–0	0–4	2–2	0–2
San Antonio	2–0	2–0	2–0	0–2	2–0	2–2	4–0	0–2	3–1	3–1	1–1	3–1	3–1	1–1	1–1	3–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	2–0	3–1	3–1	3–1	—	2–2	2–0	3–1	4–0	1–1
Seattle	2–0	2–0	2–0	1–1	2–0	2–2	3–1	1–1	4–0	4–0	0–2	4–0	2–2	2–0	2–0	4–0	2–0	1–1	1–1	2–0	4–0	3–1	4–0	2–2	—	1–1	3–1	3–1	1–1
Toronto	0–4	1–3	1–3	1–3	1–3	1–1	0–2	0–4	1–1	0–2	0–4	2–0	0–2	1–2	2–2	1–1	2–2	0–4	1–2	1–3	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–2	1–1	—	0–2	1–1	3–1
Utah	1–1	2–0	1–1	0–2	2–0	3–1	1–3	2–0	3–1	2–2	2–0	3–1	2–2	2–0	2–0	3–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	3–1	3–1	4–0	1–3	1–3	2–0	—	4–0	1–1
Vancouver	0–2	1–1	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–4	1–3	0–2	0–4	0–4	0–2	1–3	0–4	1–1	1–1	2–2	0–2	1–1	0–2	1–1	0–4	2–2	2–2	0–4	1–3	1–1	0–4	—	0–2
Washington	3–1	2–2	1–3	0–4	1–3	2–0	1–1	2–1	1–1	1–1	0–3	1–1	1–1	2–2	3–1	2–0	2–2	1–3	0–4	3–1	0–2	2–0	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–3	1–1	2–0	—

Game log

1995–96 game log

November: 5–10 (Home: 4–4; Road: 1–6)

December: 4–11 (Home: 3–4; Road: 1–7)

January: 3–10 (Home: 3–5; Road: 0–5)

February: 2–10 (Home: 0–3; Road: 2–7)

March: 4–12 (Home: 3–7; Road: 1–5)

April: 3–8 (Home: 2–3; Road: 1–5)

1995–96 season schedule

Player statistics

Legend
GP	Games played	GS	Games started	MPG	Minutes per game
FG%	Field-goal percentage	3P%	3-point field-goal percentage	FT%	Free-throw percentage
RPG	Rebounds per game	APG	Assists per game	SPG	Steals per game
BPG	Blocks per game	PPG	Points per game

Regular season

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Anderson, Willie !Willie Anderson	49	42	31.9	.440	.305	.856	3.8	3.0	1.18	1.04	12.4
Christie, Doug !Doug Christie	32	17	25.6	.436	.414	.789	3.8	2.9	1.81	.50	10.1
Earl, Acie !Acie Earl	42	7	15.6	.424	.000	.719	3.1	.6	.43	.88	7.5
Esposito, Vincenzo !Vincenzo Esposito	30	0	9.4	.360	.232	.795	.5	.8	.23	.00	3.9
King, Jimmy !Jimmy King	62	1	14.0	.431	.147	.701	1.8	1.4	.34	.21	4.5
Lewis, Martin !Martin Lewis	16	0	11.8	.483	.286	.600	1.8	.2	.50	.19	4.7
Massenburg, Tony !Tony Massenburg	24	20	27.5	.510	.000	.662	6.9	.8	.54	.38	10.1
Miller, Oliver !Oliver Miller	76	72	33.1	.526	.000	.661	7.4	2.9	1.42	1.88	12.9
Murray, Tracy !Tracy Murray	82	37	30.0	.454	.422	.831	4.3	1.6	1.06	.49	16.2
O'Sullivan, Dan !Dan O'Sullivan	5	2	27.8	.371	.000	.875	6.4	.4	.40	.80	6.6
Pinckney, Ed !Ed Pinckney	47	24	21.9	.502	.000	.758	6.0	1.1	.66	.36	7.0
Robertson, Alvin !Alvin Robertson	77	69	32.2	.470	.272	.677	4.4	4.2	2.16	.47	9.3
Rogers, Carlos !Carlos Rogers	56	18	18.6	.517	.143	.546	3.0	.6	.45	.86	7.7
Salley, John !John Salley	25	6	19.3	.486	.000	.723	3.9	1.6	.44	.48	6.0
Stoudamire, Damon !Damon Stoudamire	70	70	40.9	.426	.395	.797	4.0	9.3	1.40	.27	19.0
Tabak, Zan !Žan Tabak	67	18	19.9	.543	.000	.561	4.8	.9	.36	.46	7.7
Whitfield, Dwayne !Dwayne Whitfield	8	1	15.2	.433	.000	.636	3.1	.2	.38	.25	5.0
Williams, Herb !Herb Williams	1	0	31.0	.375	.000	.000	8.0	.0	1.00	2.00	6.0
Wright, Sharone !Sharone Wright	11	6	27.1	.508	.333	.685	5.2	1.0	.55	.91	16.5

Franchise firsts

Point: Alvin Robertson

Award winners

Damon Stoudamire, First Team, NBA All-Rookie Team
Damon Stoudamire, NBA Rookie of the Year Award
Damon Stoudamire, NBA Schick Rookie Game, MVP

References

↑ 1995-96 Toronto Raptors
1 2 3 4 5 Laying the Groundwork for the NBA in Toronto, nba.com/raptors, accessed 16 June 2007.
↑ New Jersey Nets at Toronto Raptors, basketball-reference.com, 3 November 1995, accessed 20 August 2015.
1 2 1995-96 Standings, nba.com/history, accessed 16 June 2007.
↑ Chicago Bulls at Toronto Raptors, basketball-reference.com, 24 March 1996, accessed 16 June 2007.
↑ Damon Stoudamire Info Page, nba.com, accessed 16 June 2007.

External links

1995–96 NBA season by team

Eastern

Atlantic	Boston Miami New Jersey New York Orlando Philadelphia Washington

Central	Atlanta Charlotte Chicago Cleveland Detroit Indiana Milwaukee Toronto

Western

Midwest	Dallas Denver Houston Minnesota San Antonio Utah Vancouver

Pacific	Golden State L.A. Clippers L.A. Lakers Phoenix Portland Sacramento Seattle

Toronto Raptors seasons

1990s

2000s

2010s

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