The Naismith Cup was an annual pre-season National Basketball Association (NBA) exhibition game. From the 1995 season through 2000, it was played between the two Canadian NBA rivals, the Toronto Raptors and the Vancouver Grizzlies, at neutral venues across Canada. The cup was named after James Naismith, the Canadian inventor of basketball, and was originally created to raise money for Canada Basketball, similar to the Pearson Cup competition between Canada's Major League Baseball teams the Toronto Blue Jays and Montreal Expos (which have since relocated to Washington). Following the Grizzlies relocation to Memphis the cup was laid dead, though the Raptors continued the tradition of hosting neutral site pre-season games in Canadian cities under the NBA Canada Series name. The Raptors won the series against Vancouver 4–1.

Prior to the 2003 season, the cup was revived as an international match between the Raptors and a European team, played at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto. In 2003 the opponent was the Panathinaikos A.O. of Athens, Greece, while in 2004 the Benetton Treviso of Treviso, Italy visited Toronto. The final competition in 2005 saw the Raptors' only international loss, against Maccabi Tel Aviv of Tel Aviv, Israel. The current whereabouts of the Naismith Cup are unknown.

Results

Season Date Location Arena Visiting team Score Home team Attendance Toronto–Vancouver series 1995 October 21 Winnipeg Winnipeg Arena Toronto Raptors 98–77 Vancouver Grizzlies 11,203 1996 October 27 Calgary Canadian Airlines Saddledome Toronto Raptors 77–80 Vancouver Grizzlies 15,104 1997 October 20 Halifax Halifax Metro Centre Vancouver Grizzlies 98–107 Toronto Raptors 8,190 1998 October 19 Vancouver General Motors Place Toronto Raptors @ Vancouver GrizzliesCancelled due to 1998–99 NBA lockout 1999 October 18 Edmonton Skyreach Centre Toronto Raptors 110–84 Vancouver Grizzlies 12,852 2000 October 12 Ottawa Corel Centre Vancouver Grizzlies 92–97 Toronto Raptors 14,783 International series 2003 October 10 Toronto Air Canada Centre Panathinaikos 76–100 Toronto Raptors 17,749 2004 October 20 Toronto Air Canada Centre Benetton Treviso 83–86 Toronto Raptors 10,668 2005 October 16 Toronto Air Canada Centre Maccabi Elite Tel Aviv 105–103 Toronto Raptors 17,281

Other neutral site Raptors games and international opponents In addition to the Naismith Cup games, the Raptors have played several other neutral site preseason games in Canadian cities. During their first two seasons of play (1995–1997), prior to the completion of construction on their new home the Air Canada Centre, the Raptors played three regular season games at Copps Coliseum in Hamilton, Ontario. The team also lost a preseason game to the Miami Heat 119–89 at Marine Midland Arena in nearby Buffalo, New York before 12,748 fans on 18 October 1996. A second game, against the New York Knicks, was scheduled for 15 October 1998 at the arena, but was cancelled due to the 1998–99 NBA lockout. The team has subsequently discussed the possibility of playing additional preseason and regular season games in Buffalo. The Buffalo Braves played a total of 16 regular season games at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto from 1971 to 1975. Blue Cross Arena in Rochester, New York hosted a Raptors pre-season 103-81 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2006 before 9,429 fans. More recently, the team has participated in a number of games as part of the NBA Canada Series.

Season Date Location Arena Visiting team Score Home team Attendance Ref 1995 October 14 Halifax, Nova Scotia Halifax Metro Centre Philadelphia 76ers 107–120 Toronto Raptors 9,367 October 16 Saint John, New Brunswick Harbour Station Philadelphia 76ers 121–93 Toronto Raptors 6,297 October 19 Saskatoon Saskatchewan Place Atlanta Hawks 106–105 (OT) Toronto Raptors 5,648 1996 October 11 Halifax, Nova Scotia Halifax Metro Centre Atlanta Hawks 100–82 Toronto Raptors 7,589 October 13 Ottawa Corel Centre New York Knicks 73–78 Toronto Raptors 9,662 1997 October 24 Hamilton, Ontario Copps Coliseum Denver Nuggets 114–100 Toronto Raptors 10,962 2003 October 23 St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador Mile One Stadium Cleveland Cavaliers @ Toronto RaptorsCancelled due to wet playing surface 7,500 2004 October 17 London, Ontario John Labatt Centre Toronto Raptors 103–108 Philadelphia 76ers 7,619 2005 October 24 Winnipeg MTS Centre Portland Trail Blazers 105–98 Toronto Raptors 10,900 2008 October 21 Edmonton Rexall Place Denver Nuggets 105–94 Toronto Raptors 17,534 2009 October 6 London, Ontario John Labatt Centre Toronto Raptors 98–107 Philadelphia 76ers 7,213 2010 October 6 Vancouver Rogers Arena Toronto Raptors 129–78 Phoenix Suns 18,123 October 22 Montreal Bell Centre New York Knicks 103–108 Toronto Raptors 22,114 2012 October 19 Montreal Bell Centre New York Knicks 88–107 Toronto Raptors 22,114 2014 October 5 Vancouver Rogers Arena Sacramento Kings 94–99 Toronto Raptors 18,900 October 24 Montreal Bell Centre New York Knicks 80–83 Toronto Raptors 20,738 2015 October 4 Vancouver Rogers Arena Los Angeles Clippers 73–93 Toronto Raptors 19,000 October 14 Ottawa Canadian Tire Centre Toronto Raptors 87–89 Minnesota Timberwolves 15,522 October 23 Montreal Bell Centre Washington Wizards 82–92 Toronto Raptors 20,072 2016 October 1 Vancouver Rogers Arena Golden State Warriors 93–97 Toronto Raptors 19,000 October 3 Calgary Scotiabank Saddledome Denver Nuggets 108–106 Toronto Raptors 19,600 2018 September 29 Vancouver Rogers Arena Portland Trail Blazers 104-122 Toronto Raptors 18,654 October 10 Montreal Bell Centre Brooklyn Nets 91-118 Toronto Raptors 20,526 2022 October 2 Edmonton Rogers Place Utah Jazz 82-114 Toronto Raptors 17,100 October 14 Montreal Bell Centre Boston Celtics 134-137 (OT) Toronto Raptors 21,900 2023 October 8 Vancouver Rogers Arena Sacramento Kings 99-112 Toronto Raptors 18,654 2024 October 6 Montreal Bell Centre Washington Wizards 98-125 Toronto Raptors 21,900 2025 October 6 Vancouver Rogers Arena Denver Nuggets 112-108 Toronto Raptors 18,654 2026 October 3 Quebec City Videotron Centre Miami Heat TBD Toronto Raptors TBD October 10 Vancouver Rogers Arena LA Clippers TBD Toronto Raptors TBD

Since the end of the Naismith Cup, the Raptors have continued to play international opponents. They hosted Maccabi Tel Aviv of Israel again in 2006, Žalgiris Kaunas of Lithuania in 2007, CSKA Moscow of Russia in 2008, Real Madrid of Spain in 2012, and Maccabi Haifa of Israel in 2014, and have played away games against Lottomatica Roma of Italy and Real Madrid of Spain in 2007. They hosted San Lorenzo de Almagro of Argentina during the 2016 preseason, and Melbourne United of Australia in 2018.

Toronto has also participated in NBA Global Games, playing a preseason game against the Boston Celtics in Rome, Italy in 2007, two regular season games against the New Jersey Nets in London, England in 2011, a regular season game in London against the Orlando Magic in 2016, and two preseason games against the Houston Rockets in Saitama, Japan in 2019.

See also NBA Global Games NBA Canada Series List of games played between NBA and international teams NBA versus EuroLeague games McDonald's Championship EuroLeague American Tour

References