How the Raptors and Grizzlies Brought the NBA Back to Canada in 1995

The NBA’s return to Canada in 1995 had two starting points. In Toronto, the Raptors opened at SkyDome. In Portland, the Vancouver Grizzlies began on the road. Both won on November 3, giving the league’s two Canadian expansion franchises a successful first night, even as the longer task of establishing them was only beginning.

Thirty-one years later, those debuts are worth considering together. Toronto’s continuing presence can make the 1995 expansion look like the beginning of one Canadian franchise’s story. Vancouver was an equal part of the original change: two new organizations, in different cities, entering the same league in the same season.

A return after the Huskies

Canada already had a place in the league’s origins. On November 1, 1946, the New York Knicks beat the Toronto Huskies 68–66 at Maple Leaf Gardens in the first game of the Basketball Association of America, the NBA’s predecessor. The Huskies’ brief existence did not produce a lasting Canadian franchise.

The 1990s expansion therefore restored Canadian home games to the regular-season map after a long absence. It also required new clubs to be built, rather than moving an established roster into either city. The NBA’s chronology dates the Toronto franchise award to November 4, 1993, identifying the group headed by businessman John Bitove Jr.

Vancouver received its expansion franchise on April 27, 1994, according to the Associated Press’s later account of the team’s relocation. Stu Jackson joined as vice president of basketball operations and general manager that July. His biography on the Grizzlies’ archived 1995–96 website describes the assignment directly: constructing an NBA team from scratch.

Two wins on opening night

Toronto’s first game drew 33,306 spectators to SkyDome, where the Raptors beat the New Jersey Nets 94–79. Alvin Robertson scored the franchise’s first points and finished with 30. Rookie Damon Stoudamire added 10 points and 10 assists, according to the NBA’s archived game account.

Robertson supplied a veteran’s scoring while Stoudamire began the season that would make him Rookie of the Year. Their contrasting roles mattered for a new club trying to win immediately while developing players for later seasons. The large opening-night crowd saw both contributions in the franchise’s first result.

Vancouver’s first result came away from its own supporters. The Grizzlies beat Portland 92–80 at the Trail Blazers’ new Rose Garden. The NBA’s chronology records the two Canadian victories together; neither team had to wait beyond its debut to enter the win column.

The Grizzlies followed with an overtime win over Minnesota, Canada Basketball’s historical account records. Their 2–0 start did not forecast the rest of the season. Vancouver finished 15–67, while Toronto went 21–61. The debut wins gave neither club an easy first season. Sustaining those results proved much harder than winning on opening night.

The paths separated

Stoudamire’s rookie award gave Toronto an individual achievement within its difficult first season. CBC’s retrospective records averages of 19 points and 9.3 assists, alongside the Raptors’ 109–108 win over the eventual 72-win Chicago Bulls. Those moments gave the first season substance beyond its ceremonial beginning.

Vancouver’s stay ended after six seasons. On July 3, 2001, the NBA’s owners unanimously approved the Grizzlies’ move to Memphis. The contemporary AP report documented a franchise that had never reached the playoffs and had struggled throughout its time in Vancouver. The opening victory remained part of its history, but could not secure its future in the city.

The two clubs’ later separation should not erase what they shared in 1995. The NBA’s return was built through two franchises and announced on the court by two wins. Remembering both makes the Canadian expansion’s beginnings more complete, while leaving room for the very different histories that followed.

Sources & Notes

• NBA: November chronology, including the 1946 game, Toronto franchise award and 1995 debuts.
• NBA: Toronto’s opening-night game record.
• Grizzlies’ 1995–96 website: Stu Jackson and the new franchise.
• Canada Basketball: retrospective on the two clubs.
• CBC: Toronto’s first-season results and Stoudamire’s performance.
• Associated Press on NBA.com: July 3, 2001 relocation approval.