Holly MacKenzie – Raptors905.com

When Raptors 905 becomes the first D-League team to operate outside of the United States, it will also hold the distinction of being the sole franchise with a name featuring a number rather than a city. The meaning behind the name is two-fold: the affiliate shares “Raptors” with its parent team because it is an extension of it. The 905 serves as a nod to both the location of the team — Mississauga’s area code is 905 — as well as Raptors fans in Toronto’s surrounding cities.

“It goes with We The North, it goes with this outsider mentality,” Raptors Vice President of Basketball Management and strategy Bobby Webster said. “Just because it’s a number, I think it’s just something different. We’re so accustomed to having a mascot or name attached to a team and this was outside the box.”

Every D-League team name must get approval from the NBA. While Raptors 905 was the first of its kind to be presented for approval, NBA D-League President Malcolm Turner quickly became a fan.

“I think it’s terrific,” Turner said. “The energy and passion that MLSE has expressed behind that name and understanding the 905 and the background on the terminology as explained to me, I think it’s going to be very powerful in the community and it’s something that very quickly we became excited about and we’re looking forward to it.

“When you look at the 905 area code, seven current NBA players, including two with D-League experience grew up in the 905 area code,” he continued. “The passion and affinity for basketball is well documented and in many regards that’s why NBA All-Star, among other reasons will be in Toronto.”

One of the benefits of having a team so close in proximity to the Raptors is the ability to have the coaching staff be able to oversee development of players who are on assignment with Raptors 905. Rather than viewing it as a separate entity, the organization hopes to instead utilize it as an extension of the Raptors basketball club.



“This is just more of the Raptors,” Webster explained. “You’re going to have an experience when you come to the Air Canada Centre and watch the Raptors, you’re going to have an experience when the Raptors go on the road in the preseason whether it’s Vancouver, Montreal or Ottawa, and this is just another experience. You want to have a Raptors experience, you’re going to have Raptors players, Raptors coaches. Everyone that runs a Raptors game here is going to be involved with running a Raptors 905 game. Our game operations, our mascot, our dance team, it’s going to be the same thing.”

For fans wondering what to expect at a Raptors 905 game, the answer is simple: an extension of what you see and feel at Toronto Raptors games.

“Obviously it’s a different level, but we’re taking this seriously,” Webster said. “This is not a team that is going to just play in Mississauga and [we’ll] forget about. We’re all going to go to games, we’re going to watch our own guys, I think it’s just another way to follow the Raptors.”

The Raptors were affiliated with the Fort Wayne Mad Ants last season, along with 11 other NBA teams. While the pool-team model worked for some franchises, Toronto wanted to be more hands-on with its younger players, as well as be able to ensure that guys who need playing time to develop will get it.

Another advantage of Toronto having its own D-League team is the opportunity to use it as a testing ground for ideas before taking them to the NBA level. With Raptors 905, the Raptors see an opportunity to nurture an environment and culture that is the same as the one they’ve created at the Air Canada Centre.

“I think in general you want to model your team just like the senior team,” Ujiri said. “It’s going to come down to developing, how we develop young players. It’s going to come down to instructing, teaching, finding out new methods, new ways, being creative in how we do things down there. For us, we’re using it in two ways, I think. We’ll use it modelling the senior team, which will be the Raptors, and we’ll use it as an experiment to try different things: does it work? Does it not work? Whether it’s style of play or things we do in our front office, analytics, everything. And it’s going to stretch into marketing, community work, community outreach. So many things that we can really tap into.”

Turner and the D-League quickly understood why Toronto had chosen Mississauga as its target location after doing an on-site visit.

“It’s a fast-growing, multicultural market, high economic potential, key transportation hub, in the greater Toronto area,” Turner said. “The Hershey Centre in particular, at my site visit to the building, setting aside all the numbers, and they speak for themselves, the eye test, it’s a hub for youth sports activity. We were really excited about the venue and Mississauga in particular.”

The overwhelming fan support during Toronto’s 2014 playoff campaign showed the world Canada’s passion for basketball. From We The North to Raptors 905, the game continues to grow as the Raptors’ brand continues to expand.

“It’s an extension of the Raptors family,” Ujri said. “I think that’s the best way to put it. When we say family we mean team, fans, community, everything put together. We want fans to feel it as an extension of the Raptors family. We are growing.”