1995–96 Toronto Raptors season

The 1995–96 NBA season was the Toronto Raptors' first season in the National Basketball Association. The Raptors, along with the Vancouver Grizzlies, played their first games in 1995, and were the first NBA teams to play in Canada since the 1946–47 Toronto Huskies. Retired All-Star point guard and former Detroit Pistons legend Isiah Thomas became the team's General Manager. The Raptors revealed a new primary logo of a dinosaur playing basketball, and got new pinstripe uniforms with the logo on the front of their jerseys, adding purple and red to their color scheme.

In the 1995 NBA expansion draft, the Raptors selected veteran players like B.J. Armstrong, Oliver Miller, Willie Anderson, Tony Massenburg, Ed Pinckney, Žan Tabak, Acie Earl and John Salley. However, Armstrong refused to play for the Raptors, and was traded to the Golden State Warriors in exchange for second-year forward Carlos Rogers and Victor Alexander. The team also signed free agents, former All-Star guard Alvin Robertson, and three-point specialist Tracy Murray. The Raptors received the seventh overall pick in the 1995 NBA draft, and selected point guard Damon Stoudamire from the University of Arizona. The team also hired Brendan Malone as their first ever head coach.

In their NBA regular season debut on November 3, 1995, the Raptors defeated the New Jersey Nets at the SkyDome, 94–79, but went on a 7-game losing streak afterwards, and held a 13–34 record at the All-Star break. At midseason, the team traded Anderson and Alexander to the New York Knicks in exchange for Doug Christie, and then traded Massenburg and Pinckney to the Philadelphia 76ers in exchange for second-year forward Sharone Wright, while Salley was released to free agency and signed with the Chicago Bulls. The Raptors finished their inaugural season last place in the Central Division with a 21–61 record.

Stoudamire averaged 19.0 points, 9.3 assists and 1.4 steals per game, and was named Rookie of the Year, and was named to the NBA All-Rookie First Team. He also won the MVP award in the Rookie Game during the All-Star Weekend in San Antonio, Texas. In addition, Murray finished second on the team in scoring, averaging 16.2 points per game, led them with 151 three-point field goals, and finished tied in fifth place in Most Improved Player voting, while Miller provided the team with 12.9 points, 7.4 rebounds, 1.4 steals and 1.9 blocks per game, and Robertson contributed 9.3 points, 4.4 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 2.2 steals per game. Off the bench, Tabak provided with 7.7 points and 4.8 rebounds per game, while Rogers also contributed 7.7 points per game, and Earl contributed 7.5 points per game.

Following the season, Malone was fired as head coach after just one season with the Raptors, while Murray signed as a free agent with the Washington Bullets, Miller signed with the Dallas Mavericks, and Robertson retired after ten seasons in the NBA. The Raptors' new logo would remain in use until 2008, where they changed the background of the logo from purple to red, while the original logo with the dinosaur lasted until 2015. The new pinstripe uniforms lasted until 1999.