Founded in 1995, they mostly struggled for their first two decades of existence but turned it around in the ’10s thanks to Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan, eventually winning the first championship by a Canadian team in 2019.
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No one believed in us: 14 biggest upsets in NBA Finals history
NBA playoff tradition is that the better team typically wins, but in these 14 NBA Finals series, the lesser team on paper managed to pull off a stunner.
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Cold comfort: 18 NBA Coach of the Year winners whose team made an early playoff exit
Being named Coach of the Year is one of the premier honors for NBA coaches but doesn’t mean much if it coincides with playoff disappointment
Player hater’s ball: Eight players who have antagonized an city’s entire fan base
Being beloved by your hometown faithful is the goal of most basketball players, but some took a special pride in the pure hatred they inspired in opposing fan bases.
Foundational pieces: 30 notable NBA expansion draft picks
Utilized to seed the roster of new franchises, expansion drafts have been staged 11 times in NBA history, starting with the Chicago Packers in 1961 and most recently with the Charlotte Bobcats in 2004. These are the most notable selections in expansion draft history, from flops to revivals to impending franchise cornerstones.
Faces in the crowd: 12 NBA celebrity superfans
Our taxonomy of the biggest celebrity NBA fans around, from movie stars to rappers to the one and only Jack Nicholson.
Fixer-uppers: Seven notably inadequate arenas that have hosted NBA teams
Whether they were too cramped, too spacious, too old, too new, or just plan too crappy, these seven arenas served as mediocre temporary sites for NBA teams that were in between permanent homes.
No one believed in us: 14 biggest upsets in NBA Finals history
NBA playoff tradition is that the better team typically wins, but in these 14 NBA Finals series, the lesser team on paper managed to pull off a stunner.
Reign of terror: 19 disastrous tenures from NBA general managers
Unconscionable signings, lopsided trades, unexplainable draft picks, and perplexing personnel decisions are the hallmarks of the eras detailed below, where a general manager put together a performance so dreadful, they arguably set the franchise back years of development.
Add an asterisk: Five NBA championship teams with questionable legitimacy
As fans and the media debate the legitimacy of the eventual ’19-’20 NBA champion, we take a look back at five other title winners that have faced similar questions regarding their validity.
No longer home for the holidays: 20 notable NBA transactions that took place in late December
With the season typically about one-third finished, and teams starting to settle into understanding their potential and limits, late December is typically a busy time for trades, releases, free agency signings, and coaching changes.
The court is flat: 11 significant NBA games played outside the United States
As rumors continue swirling that Mexico City may receive a franchise in the near future, we take a look at back at 11 global NBA games that were notable in one way or another.
The people have spoken: 15 NBA team names that were (at least partially) decided by fan voting
In the grand American tradition of presidents, senators, Dancing with the Stars winners, and M&M colors, many NBA teams have given power to the people to determine their name via voting and/or contests.