The Toronto Raptors were bad in their first few years. No one rooted for them. But Vince Carter led them onto a different path and may have saved their future.
In their formative years, the Toronto Raptors were bad.
They were an expansion team and joined the NBA in 1995. In their first season, they only won 21 games.
The following season, they did a bit better, winning 30 games, but that still wasn’t enough to get them into the playoffs.
The season after that, in 1997-98, they plummeted and won an itty-bitty 16 games.
However, this poor record was a blessing in disguise because the Raptors were able to acquire a rookie Vince Carter on draft day.
The Raptors had the fourth overall pick and selected Antawn Jamison. But immediately after the Golden State Warriors selected Carter with the fifth overall pick, the two teams swapped draft picks.
Though Carter’s first season with the team didn’t go well, as they landed tenth in the Eastern Conference standings and didn’t make it into the playoffs, something special was brewing.
Why do I say this?
Because in 1999-00, Carter became Vinsanity and put the Toronto Raptors on the map.
This season, he averaged 25.7 points, 5.8 rebounds, 3.9 assists, 1.3 steals and 1.1 blocks.
His game, especially on the offensive end, improved tenfold and this allowed him to lead the Raptors to the NBA Playoffs for the first time in the franchise’s history (though they went on to lose in the first round).
Carter also became the first Raptor to be deemed an All-Star and an All-NBA player.
But the event that made non-Canadian fans of his occurred at the 2000 NBA Dunk Contest.
The Impact of the 2000 NBA Dunk Contest
As I said in the first sentence, the Toronto Raptors sucked in their first few years as a team.
They were losing left and right. But when Carter joined the team, a light of hope shone onto the team.
And when he competed in the dunk contest -and subsequently annihilated every competitor, including his cousin and teammate Tracy McGrady, and won it- all of the lights were shining on the Raptors.
People from all over wanted to know who he was. People from all over were talking about Vince Carter. And as a result, people started talking about the Raptors.
And as more and more people became Carter fans, they also became Raptors fans.
One example is Kevin Durant, who said on The Dan Patrick Show back in 2013 that he loved how Carter played and how he helped build the Raptors.
Via Sportsnet:
“Believe it or not, I wanted to play for the Toronto Raptors, that was my favorite team.
“[Vince Carter’s] enthusiasm he showed, just his athleticism, and how he brought Toronto from being one of the newer teams in the league to almost going to the finals. He changed the culture there in Toronto.”
Fans rode with the Raptors regardless of their record. Win or lose, they rooted for the team and hoped for their success.
The Raptors had a whole nation (plus some sprinkles) watching their games and buying their merchandise.
And this is how one dunk contest changed the course of an entire organization.
Because if Carter hadn’t performed the way he did and hadn’t won it, the fate of the Raptors could’ve been the same as the fate of the Vancouver Grizzlies -sold and moved to an American city.
