Naismith Cup

The Naismith Cup was an annual pre-season National Basketball Association (NBA) exhibition game. From the 1995 season through 2000, it was played between the two Canadian NBA rivals, the Toronto Raptors and the Vancouver Grizzlies, at neutral venues across Canada.[1] The cup was named after James Naismith, the Canadian inventor of basketball, and was originally created to raise money for Canada Basketball, similar to the Pearson Cup competition between Canada's Major League Baseball teams the Toronto Blue Jays and Montreal Expos (which have since relocated to Washington). Following the Grizzlies relocation to Memphis the cup was laid dead,[2] though the Raptors continued the tradition of hosting neutral site pre-season games in Canadian cities under the NBA Canada Series name. The Raptors won the series against Vancouver 4–1.

Naismith Cup
SportBasketball
Founded1995
Ceased2005
CountryWorldwide
Last
champion(s)		Maccabi Tel Aviv

Prior to the 2003 season, the cup was revived as an international match between the Raptors and a European team, played at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto. In 2003 the opponent was the Panathinaikos A.O. of Athens, Greece, while in 2004 the Benetton Treviso of Treviso, Italy visited Toronto.[3] The final competition in 2005 saw the Raptors' only international loss, against Maccabi Tel Aviv of Tel Aviv, Israel.[4]

Results
Season[5][6]DateLocationArenaVisiting teamScoreHome teamAttendance
Toronto–Vancouver series
1995October 21 WinnipegWinnipeg Arena Toronto Raptors98–77 Vancouver Grizzlies11,203[7]
1996October 27 CalgaryCanadian Airlines Saddledome Toronto Raptors77–80 Vancouver Grizzlies15,104[8]
1997October 20 HalifaxHalifax Metro Centre Vancouver Grizzlies98–107 Toronto Raptors8,190[9]
1998October 19 VancouverGeneral Motors PlaceToronto Raptors @ Vancouver Grizzlies
Cancelled due to 1998–99 NBA lockout[10]
1999October 18 EdmontonSkyreach Centre Toronto Raptors110–84 Vancouver Grizzlies12,852[11]
2000October 12 OttawaCorel Centre Vancouver Grizzlies92–97 Toronto Raptors14,783[12]
International series
2003October 10 TorontoAir Canada Centre Panathinaikos B.C.76–100 Toronto Raptors17,749[13]
2004October 20 TorontoAir Canada Centre Benetton Treviso83–86 Toronto Raptors10,668[14]
2005October 16 TorontoAir Canada Centre Maccabi Tel Aviv105–103 Toronto Raptors17,281[4]

Other neutral site Raptors games and international opponents

In addition to the Naismith Cup games, the Raptors have played several other neutral site preseason games in Canadian cities. During their first two seasons of play (1995–1997), prior to the completion of construction on their new home the Air Canada Centre, the Raptors played three regular season games at Copps Coliseum in Hamilton, Ontario.[15] The team also lost a preseason game to the Miami Heat 119–89 at Marine Midland Arena in nearby Buffalo, New York before 12,748 fans on 18 October 1996.[5][16] A second game, against the New York Knicks, was scheduled for 15 October 1998 at the arena, but was cancelled due to the 1998–99 NBA lockout.[17] The team has subsequently discussed the possibility of playing additional preseason and regular season games in Buffalo.[18] The Buffalo Braves played a total of 16 regular season games at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto from 1971 to 1975.[19] Blue Cross Arena in Rochester, New York hosted a Raptors pre-season 103-81 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2006 before 9,429 fans.[20] More recently, the team has participated in a number of games as part of the NBA Canada Series.

Season[5][6]DateLocationArenaVisiting teamScoreHome teamAttendanceRef
1995October 14Halifax, Nova ScotiaHalifax Metro CentrePhiladelphia 76ers107–120Toronto Raptors9,367[21]
October 16Saint John, New BrunswickHarbour StationPhiladelphia 76ers121–93Toronto Raptors6,297[22]
October 19SaskatoonSaskatchewan PlaceAtlanta Hawks106–105 (OT)Toronto Raptors5,648[23]
1996October 11Halifax, Nova ScotiaHalifax Metro CentreAtlanta Hawks100–82Toronto Raptors7,589[24]
October 13OttawaCorel CentreNew York Knicks73–78Toronto Raptors9,662[25]
1997October 24Hamilton, OntarioCopps ColiseumDenver Nuggets114–100Toronto Raptors10,962[26]
2003October 23St. John's, Newfoundland and LabradorMile One StadiumCleveland Cavaliers @ Toronto Raptors
Cancelled due to wet playing surface		7,500[27]
2004October 17London, OntarioJohn Labatt CentreToronto Raptors103–108Philadelphia 76ers7,619[28]
2005October 24WinnipegMTS CentrePortland Trail Blazers105–98Toronto Raptors10,900[29]
2008October 21EdmontonRexall PlaceDenver Nuggets105–94Toronto Raptors17,534[30]
2009October 6London, OntarioJohn Labatt CentreToronto Raptors98–107Philadelphia 76ers7,213[31]
2010October 6VancouverRogers ArenaToronto Raptors129–78Phoenix Suns18,123[32]
October 22MontrealBell CentreNew York Knicks103–108Toronto Raptors22,114[33]
2012October 19MontrealBell CentreNew York Knicks88–107Toronto Raptors22,114[34]
2014October 5VancouverRogers ArenaSacramento Kings94–99Toronto Raptors18,900[35]
October 24MontrealBell CentreNew York Knicks80–83Toronto Raptors20,738[36]
2015October 4VancouverRogers ArenaLos Angeles Clippers73–93Toronto Raptors19,000[37]
October 14OttawaCanadian Tire CentreToronto Raptors87–89Minnesota Timberwolves15,522[37]
October 23MontrealBell CentreWashington Wizards82–92Toronto Raptors20,072[37]
2016October 1VancouverRogers ArenaGolden State Warriors93–97Toronto Raptors19,000[38]
October 3CalgaryScotiabank SaddledomeDenver Nuggets108–106Toronto Raptors19,600[38]
2018September 29VancouverRogers ArenaPortland Trail Blazers104-122Toronto Raptors18,654[39][40]
October 10MontrealBell CentreBrooklyn Nets91-118Toronto Raptors20,526[41][42]

Since the end of the Naismith Cup, the Raptors have continued to play international opponents. They hosted Maccabi Tel Aviv of Israel again in 2006, Žalgiris Kaunas of Lithuania in 2007, CSKA Moscow of Russia in 2008, Real Madrid of Spain in 2012, and Maccabi Haifa of Israel in 2014, and have played away games against Lottomatica Roma of Italy and Real Madrid of Spain in 2007.[43][44][45] They hosted San Lorenzo de Almagro of Argentina during the 2016 preseason,[38] and Melbourne United of Australia in 2018.[46]

Toronto has also participated in NBA Global Games, playing a preseason game against the Boston Celtics in Rome, Italy in 2007, two regular season games against the New Jersey Nets in London, England in 2011, and another game in London against the Orlando Magic in 2016.[47]

See also

References
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  2. Feschuk, Dave (March 8, 2007). "Time for some bonding Mitchell; Team unity crucial for the stretch run". Toronto Star.
  3. Quinn, Jennifer (October 11, 2003). "Lights out for Greek side; ACC goes dark at Raps' game with Panathinaikos Crowd of 17,749 watches visitors get trounced". Toronto Star.
  4. MacLeod, Robert (October 17, 2005). "Homes isn't so sweet for Raptors". The Globe and Mail. p. S3.
  5. "2009-10 Raptors Preseason Media Guide" (PDF). Toronto Raptors. 2009. Retrieved 2013-10-04.
  6. "2010-11 Raptors Preseason Media Guide" (PDF). Toronto Raptors. 2010. Retrieved 2013-10-04.
  7. Roberts, David (October 23, 1995). "Raptors maul tame Grizzlies". The Globe and Mail. p. E7.
  8. Clarkson, Michael (October 28, 1996). "Raptors unprepared for season". Toronto Star. p. D5.
  9. Smith, Doug (October 21, 1997). "Nasty win for Raps". Toronto Star. p. C1.
  10. Kingston, Gary (October 6, 1998). "NBA cancels rest of the pre-season". Vancouver Sun. p. E3.
  11. Smith, Doug (October 19, 1999). "Raps devour Grizzlies for first win". Toronto Star. p. C3.
  12. Smith, Doug (October 13, 2000). "Raptors win the Cup". Toronto Star. p. F3.
  13. MacLeod, Robert (October 11, 2003). "Game zapped at finish". The Globe and Mail. p. S5.
  14. MacLeod, Robert (October 21, 2004). "International flavour just not in the mix". The Globe and Mail. p. S3.
  15. JIa, James (2013-04-18). "Raptors wrap up season with best attendance in 4 years". Xinhua. Retrieved 2013-10-05.
  16. Young, Chris (1996-10-19). "Raptors suffer from Heat stroke with poor effort". Toronto Star.
  17. "Raptors-Knicks have date at Marine Midland Arena". Buffalo News. 1998-07-31. Retrieved 2013-10-07.
  18. "Raptors exploring playing pre-season games in Buffalo". The Sports Network. 2008-07-02. Retrieved 2013-10-08.
  19. Buffery, Steve (2004-11-03). "The road was paved". Toronto Sun. Retrieved 2013-10-08.
  20. "Toronto 103, Cleveland 81". ESPN. 2006-10-18. Retrieved 2015-10-24.
  21. Kernaghan, John (1995-10-16). "Rookie guard leads Raptors : Franchise debuts with surprise win over Philadelphia 76ers". The Record. p. D3.
  22. Smith, Doug (1995-10-17). "Raptors target of Sixers' wrath". The Globe and Mail. p. D8.
  23. Young, Chris (1995-10-20). "Run 'n' gun Raptors fall to Hawks in OT". Toronto Star. p. C7.
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  31. Grange, Michael (2009-10-06). "Kapono, Raptors get fresh starts". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 2013-10-07.
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  34. "Raptors beat Knicks 107-88 in Montreal". National Basketball Association. 2012-10-19. Retrieved 2013-10-07.
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  36. "Knicks at Raptors – October 24, 2014". National Basketball Association. 2014-10-24. Retrieved 2014-10-25.
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  42. "Stats Home / Box Score / BKN Vs TOR". NBA. Retrieved 2019-02-17.
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  46. "Melbourne United vs Toronto". National Basketball Association. Retrieved 2018-10-11.
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