League NBA Development League Affiliation(s) Toronto Raptors Location Mississauga, Canada Founded 2015 Championships 0 | Team manager Dan Tolzman Division / Conference titles 0 Head coach Jerry Stackhouse Ownership Toronto Raptors | |
History Raptors 905
2015–present Team colours Red, black, silver, white Arenas Hershey Centre, Air Canada Centre (occasional home games) Profiles | ||
Behind the scenes at raptors 905 open tryout
Raptors 905 are a Canadian professional basketball team in the NBA Development League. The team is based in Mississauga, Ontario, and began play in the 2015–16 season. The club, which is the D-League affiliate team of the Toronto Raptors of the National Basketball Association, plays their home games at the Hershey Centre, replacing the Centre's former basketball tenant, the Mississauga Power of the National Basketball League of Canada. The team also plays occasional home games at the Air Canada Centre, the home of their parent club, the Toronto Raptors. Raptors 905 are the eighth D-League team to be owned by an NBA team, and the first to be based outside the United States.
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The name "905" refers to the local area code of the suburban Greater Toronto Area, and is a common shorthand referring to the suburbs surrounding Toronto.
History
In 2008, Raptors President and General Manager Bryan Colangelo said that Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment Ltd. (MLSE) was considering launching an NBA Development League franchise in the Toronto area within a couple of years to serve as a developmental team for the Raptors. Hamilton's Copps Coliseum and Oshawa were reportedly under consideration to host the franchise. However, a Canadian-based franchise posed difficulties due to tax and visa issues, and Rochester, New York, which is just across the United States border, was considered as an alternative.
In April 2015, Colangelo's replacement Masai Ujiri announced that MLSE's board had approved purchasing a franchise, and that they were in negotiations with the NBA over where the team would play and whether it could be launched in time for the 2015-16 season. In June 2015 it was announced that MLSE had purchased a D-League franchise, which would be named the Raptors 905 and would begin play that fall at the Hershey Centre in Mississauga, Ontario, a suburb of Toronto. The team is named after the area code used by much of suburban Greater Toronto Area. The franchise reportedly cost $6 million. An agreement was negotiated with the Mississauga Power of the National Basketball League of Canada, which held the basketball lease at the Hershey Centre, with the Power folding. The team plans to play some games at Toronto's Air Canada Centre, home of their NBA affiliate the Toronto Raptors.
It was announced on July 7, 2015 that Jesse Mermuys, would be the Head Coach with Dan Tolzman serving as general manager. Mermuys left his position as an assistant coach under Toronto Raptors Head Coach, Dwane Casey. It was announced on July 28, 2015 veteran coach Tim Lewis was named lead assistant coach. On November 4, 2015 Raptors 905 unveiled their new uniforms the uniforms (both home and road) include "905" on them and an alternate logo was unveiled.
On June 13, 2016, it was reported that head coach Jesse Mermuys would leave the 905 for the LA Lakers, joining them as an assistant coach. In September, the Raptors announced that Jerry Stackhouse will be the head coach of the Raptors 905 team.
On November 4, 2016, the 905 hired Nicki Gross of the Iowa Energy as their player development coach, Donnie Tyndall as another assistant coach, and video co-ordinator/player development coach John Corbacio.