Raptors to open season Oct. 20 vs. Wizards - hopefully at Toronto's Scotiabank Arena
The Toronto Raptors tip off their 27th NBA season at home on Oct. 20 when they host the Washington Wizards. They're hoping that "home" is Toronto's Scotiabank Arena.
After playing their entire 2020-2021 season out of Tampa, Fla., due to COVID-19 restrictions at the Canada-U.S. border, the Raptors have not played at Scotiabank since Feb. 28, 2020, and still await the green light from municipal, provincial and federal health authorities to return home this season.
Team president and vice-chair Masai Ujiri said earlier this week that he's certain they'll get a thumbs up.
"We have no interest (in playing anywhere else)," said Ujiri. "We have not looked elsewhere, we are not going to look elsewhere, we're playing at home; we're trying to play at home. That's the goal for us."
Notable home games this season include the return of six-time NBA all-star Kyle Lowry when the Miami Heat visit on Feb. 3. The Raptors will host Miami again on April 3.
The NBA champion Milwaukee Bucks make their lone trip north of the border on Dec. 2, while LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers visit March 18.
The longest home stand of the season is seven games between Nov. 28 and Dec. 13, and December is their busiest month at home with 10 games. They have two six-game road trips, Nov 15-26 and March 6-16. They'll have 14 back-to-back games this season.
They play the majority of their games Fridays, with 16. They have 15 Wednesday games.
Toronto's schedule features six games on U.S. national broadcasts, with one each on ESPN (Jan. 21 at Washington) and TNT (Feb. 3 vs. Miami), and four on NBATV (Nov. 1 at New York, Nov. 11 at Philadelphia, Feb. 4 vs. Atlanta and April 3 vs. Miami).
Ujiri said that playing last season out of Tampa set the team back two years, and said another season playing outside its market would set it back five. The Raptors missed the playoffs last year after plunging down the Eastern Conference standings during a COVID-19 outbreak in March.
This marks the 10th straight season, and the 21st time in team history, the Raptors have started the regular season at home. Toronto plays its first road game in Boston on Oct. 22.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug, 20, 2021.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
There's actually no such thing as vegetables. Here's why you should eat them anyway
The rumours are true: Vegetables aren't real — that is, in botany, anyway. While the term fruit is recognized botanically as anything that contains a seed or seeds, vegetable is actually a broad umbrella term.
BREAKING Israeli forces seize Rafah border crossing in Gaza, putting ceasefire talks on knife's edge
Israeli tanks seized control of Gaza’s vital Rafah border crossing on Tuesday as Israel brushed off urgent warnings from close allies and moved into the southern city even as ceasefire negotiations with Hamas remained on a knife’s edge.
The Met Gala was in full bloom with Zendaya, Jennifer Lopez, Mindy Kaling among the standout stars
The Met Gala and its fashionista A-listers on Monday included Jennifer Lopez, Zendaya and a parade of others in a swirl of flora and fauna looks on a green-tinged carpet lined by live foliage.
'It looked so legit': Ontario man books $7,700 luxury villa on Booking.com, but the listing was fake
An Ontario man says he was charged more than $7,700 to book a luxury villa on a popular travel website -- but the listing was fake.
Noelia Voigt resigns as Miss USA, citing her mental health
Noelia Voigt, who was crowned Miss USA in November 2023, has announced she is resigning from her role, saying the decision is in the best interest of her mental health.
Putin begins his fifth term as president, more in control of Russia than ever
Vladimir Putin began his fifth term Tuesday as Russian leader at a glittering Kremlin inauguration, setting out on another six years in office after destroying his political opponents, launching a devastating war in Ukraine and concentrating all power in his hands.
Winnipeg man admits to killing four women, argues he's not criminally responsible
Defence lawyers of Jeremy Skibicki have admitted in court the accused killed four Indigenous women, but argues he is not criminally responsible for the deaths by way of mental disorder – this latest development has triggered a judge-alone trial rather than a jury trial.
Mediterranean staple may lower your risk of death from dementia, study finds
A daily spoonful of olive oil could lower your risk of dying from dementia, according to a new study by Harvard scientists.
An El Nino-less summer is coming. Here's what that could mean for Canada
As Canadians brace themselves for summer temperatures, forecasters say a weakening El Nino cycle doesn’t mean relief from the heat.