CANADA WELCOMES THE NBA TORONTO’S ROGERS CENTRE STADIUM AND CN TOWER WERE BUILT NEAR LAKE ONTARIO 8 CANADA WELCOMES THE NBA
WILLIE ANDERSON Toronto Ontario sits on the north shore of Lake Ontario which forms a natural boundary between Canada and the United States It was founded in the late 1700s by the British who wanted land along the important waterway but had recently lost their American claims following the Revolutionary War Over the past two centuries the city had attracted immigrants from many other countries as well and Toronto swelled to become Canada’s most populous city In sharp contrast to the Canadian wilderness perception the Toronto cityscape combines impressive historic structures and modern skyscrapers and the CN Tower the world’s sixth-tallest freestanding structure makes for an unmistakable skyline Today the diverse city exhibits a mixture of financial technological and artistic flair Toronto is also Canada’s most diverse city in terms of 9
TORONTO STRENGTHENED ITS ROSTER WITH SEASONED VETERANS SUCH AS GUARD WILLIE ANDERSON sports franchises The history of the beloved Maple Leafs of the National Hockey League NHL dates back to 1917 and the Blue Jays of Major League Baseball have called Toronto home since 1977 The city has also hosted pro football soccer and lacrosse clubs over the years In 1993 more spice was added to an already varied sports scene when the National Basketball Association NBA decided to expand into Canada and awarded the city a franchise The new club asked Torontonians to select the team name and the winning entry was Raptors a reference to swift predatory dinosaurs that wielded deadly claws Businessman John Bitove was the franchise’s first owner and he had about two years to build up an organization that would begin competing in 1995 He chose former Detroit Pistons star Isiah Thomas as vice president of basketball operations Thomas then hired former Pistons assistant coach Brendan Malone as the Raptors head coach While in Detroit the two had enjoyed back-to-back NBA titles in 1989 and 1990 The Pistons of that era were known as the Bad Boys for their toughness and win at-all-costs nature Thomas and Malone hoped to bring that attitude to Toronto We know as an expansion team we may not have a lot of 10
COURTSIDE STORIES Basketball Made in Canada Around the world most fans of basketball believe the sport finds its origins in the United States While it’s true that the game’s founder James Naismith is credited with inventing basketball while living in Springfield Massachusetts in 1891 what most people do not know is that Naismith was Canadian Born in a small township near Almonte Ontario Naismith grew up to be a fine athlete competing in collegiate football soccer and gymnastics After graduating from Montreal’s McGill University he moved to the U S to take a job as a physical education teacher at a YMCA in Springfield Asked by his boss to invent an indoor game to provide an athletic distraction for his unruly students Naismith came up with the sport he called Basket Ball The original game featured 13 basic rules and bore only a basic resemblance to today’s sport but Naismith’s students grew to love it and the game’s popularity expanded quickly More than a century later millions around the world enjoy the graceful athletic game of basketball and it’s all thanks to one of Canada’s favorite sons 11 Basketball Made in Canada
