Toronto Raptors Video Highlights from Famous Players

The Toronto Raptors are a professional basketball team based in Toronto, Ontario. They are part of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association. The team was established in 1995, along with the Vancouver Grizzlies, as part of the NBA's expansion into Canada. When the Grizzlies relocated to Memphis, Tennessee, to become the Memphis Grizzlies in 2001, the Raptors became the only Canadian team in the NBA. They originally played their home games at the SkyDome, before moving to the Air Canada Centre in 1999. Like most expansion teams, the Raptors struggled in their early years, but after the acquisition of Vince Carter through a draft day trade in 1998, the team set league attendance records and made the NBA Playoffs in 2000, 2001, and 2002. Carter was instrumental in leading the team to a franchise high 47 wins and their first playoff series win in 2001, where they advanced to the Eastern Conference Semifinals. During the 2002–03 and 2003–04 seasons, they failed to make significant progress and he was traded in 2004 to the New Jersey Nets. After Carter left, Chris Bosh emerged as the team leader, but they continued to struggle. However, with the appointment of Bryan Colangelo as Raptors President and General Manager, the first overall NBA draft selection of Andrea Bargnani, and a revamp of the roster for the 2006–07 season, they qualified for their first playoff berth in five years and captured the Atlantic Division title with 47 wins. In the 2007–08 season, they advanced to the playoffs again but failed to make the playoffs in the following season. In a bid to persuade Bosh to stay beyond the final year of his contract, Colangelo overhauled the team roster for the 2009–10 season. However, Toronto's descent down the standings, coinciding with Bosh's injuries after the All-Star break, meant a second consecutive season of failing to make the playoffs. Bosh signed with the Miami Heat in July 2010, ushering in a new era of rebuilding for the Raptors. LESS

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Forever Dirk

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The NBA Finals 2013 campaign, "FOREVER is BIG," is the first to celebrate current NBA players who are on their way to becoming legends because of successful Finals moments that live on and resonate in pop-culture forever. In this commercial, we see Dallas Mavericks superstar Dirk Nowitzki make an incredible signature fade away jump shot in Game 6 of the 2011 NBA Finals against the Miami Heat. Dirk remains suspended in time as we see this same iconic moment depicted all over the world in various ways, from cardboard cutouts to toy figurines, representing the different ways the moment is remembered in our collective consciousness. The spot ends by returning to the scene of the play to find Dirk suspended forever in place where this game-changing moment happened. "FOREVER is BIG." The NBA Finals 2013 beginning June 6 on ABC. Music by Austrian hip-hop artist RAF 3.0 "Wie Kannst Du Nur" ("How Can You Only"). About the NBA: The NBA is the premier professional basketball league in the United States and Canada. The league is truly global, with games and programming in 215 countries and territories in 47 languages, as well as rosters that currently feature 85 international players from 36 countries and territories. For the 2012-13 season, each of the league's 30 teams will play 82 regular-season games, followed by a postseason for those that qualify. The NBA consists of the following teams: Atlanta Hawks; Boston Celtics; Brooklyn Nets; Charlotte Bobcats; Chicago Bulls; Cleveland Cavaliers; Dallas Mavericks; Denver Nuggets; Detroit Pistons; Golden State Warriors; Houston Rockets; Indiana Pacers; Los Angeles Clippers; Los Angeles Lakers; Memphis Grizzlies; Miami Heat; Milwaukee Bucks; Minnesota Timberwolves; New Orleans Hornets; New York Knicks; Oklahoma City Thunder; Orlando Magic; Philadelphia 76ers; Phoenix Suns; Portland Trail Blazers; Sacramento Kings; San Antonio Spurs; Toronto Raptors; Utah Jazz; Washington Wizards. The NBA offers real time access to live regular season NBA games with a subscription to NBA LEAGUE PASS, available globally for TV, broadband, and mobile. Real-time Stats, Scores, Highlights and more are available to fans on web and mobile with NBA Game Time. For more information, as well as all the latest NBA news and highlights, log onto the league's official website at http://www.NBA.com Subscribe on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/nba Subscribe to NBA LEAGUE PASS http://www.nba.com/leaguepass Download ...