1999–2000 Toronto Raptors season

The 1999–2000 Toronto Raptors season was the fifth season for the Toronto Raptors in the National Basketball Association.^[1] In the 1999 NBA draft, the Raptors received the fifth overall pick from the Denver Nuggets via trade, and selected small forward, and high school basketball star Jonathan Bender, and also selected center, and Bosnian basketball star Aleksandar Radojević out of Barton Community College with the twelfth overall pick;^[2][3][4] the team soon traded Bender to the Indiana Pacers in exchange for Antonio Davis,^[5][6][7] and signed free agents Muggsy Bogues,^[8][9][10] and three-point specialist Dell Curry during the off-season.^[11][12][13] However, Radojević only played just three games with the Raptors due to a left knee injury; Radojević played in the team's season opener at home against the Boston Celtics, and in the team's final two games of the regular season on the road, against the Miami Heat and the Orlando Magic.^[14][15][16]

In their first full season playing at the Air Canada Centre, and with the addition of Davis, Curry and Bogues, the Raptors won seven of their first ten games of the regular season. The team got off to a 12–6 start to the season, but then lost five of their next six games, and later on held a 26–21 record at the All-Star break.^[17] At mid-season, the team traded Alvin Williams to the Celtics in exchange for Danny Fortson, but the trade was voided due to Williams failing his physical exam; Williams only played 55 games this season due to knee injuries.^[18][19][20] The Raptors showed improvement posting a seven-game winning streak between February and March, and finished in third place in the Central Division with a 45–37 record, earning the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference;^[21] the team qualified for their first ever NBA playoff appearance in franchise history.^[1]

Second-year star Vince Carter averaged 25.7 points, 5.8 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 1.3 steals per game, and was named to the All-NBA Third Team, while Tracy McGrady averaged 15.4 points, 6.3 rebounds and 1.9 blocks per game, and Doug Christie contributed 12.4 points, 4.4 assists and 1.4 steals per game. In addition, Davis provided the team with 11.5 points, 8.8 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game, while Charles Oakley provided with 6.8 points, 6.9 rebounds and 1.3 steals per game. Off the bench, Kevin Willis averaged 7.6 points and 6.1 rebounds per game, while Curry contributed 7.6 points per game, Williams provided with 5.3 points and 2.3 assists per game, and Bogues contributed 5.1 points and 3.7 assists per game.^[22]

During the NBA All-Star weekend at The Arena in Oakland in Oakland, California, Carter was selected for the 2000 NBA All-Star Game, as a member of the Eastern Conference All-Star team; it was his first ever All-Star appearance.^[23][24][25] In addition, Carter and McGrady both participated in the NBA Slam Dunk Contest,^[26][27] in which Carter won by scoring 50 on 3 of his 5 dunk attempts.^[28][29][27] Carter also finished in tenth place in Most Valuable Player voting,^[30][31] while McGrady finished tied in third place in Sixth Man of the Year voting, and also finished in fifth place in Most Improved Player voting,^[32][31] and head coach Butch Carter finished tied in fifth place in Coach of the Year voting.^[31]

In the Eastern Conference First Round of the 2000 NBA playoffs, the Raptors faced off against the 3rd–seeded New York Knicks, who were led by All-Star guard Allan Houston, Latrell Sprewell and Patrick Ewing; it was the first ever NBA playoff appearance for both Carter and McGrady. However, the Raptors lost the first two games to the Knicks on the road at Madison Square Garden, before losing Game 3 at home, 87–80 at the Air Canada Centre, thus losing the series in a three-game sweep; Carter struggled shooting just .300 in field-goal percentage, averaging 19.3 points per game during the series.^[33][34][35]

The Raptors finished ninth in the NBA in home-game attendance, with an attendance of 756,496 at the Air Canada Centre during the regular season.^[22][36] Following the season, McGrady was traded to the Orlando Magic after three seasons with the Raptors,^[37][38][39] while Christie was traded to the Sacramento Kings,^[40][41][42] Dee Brown signed as a free agent with the Magic,^[43] and Butch Carter was fired as head coach.^[44][45][46]

Butch Carter was fired on June 13, 2000, after the organization decided they wanted a return of "stability" to the franchise.^[47] In his last season as coach of the Raptors, he invited friend and rap star Percy Miller, otherwise known as "Master P", to the pre-season training camp to try out for the team.^[48][49] Carter claimed it was an attempt to deflect media attention away from Vince Carter, but was criticized for trying to draw attention to himself and his friendship with Miller. Carter also released a book where he claimed that his coach at Indiana University, Bobby Knight, had launched into a racist tirade during practice, which Knight denied.

Carter was involved in public feuds with Vince Carter and McGrady, limiting their minutes because he did not want to burn them out in their young careers. Carter also had an off-court feud with his ex-wife. During the opening round of the NBA playoffs against the Knicks, Knicks center and former Raptors player Marcus Camby, who had played under Carter during the second half of the 1997–98 season, made what Carter considered an inflammatory remark about Carter by calling him a "liar", and Carter decided to file a $5-million defamation suit against him for what he said were inaccurate statements.^[50][51][52] NBA Deputy Commissioner Russ Granik believed it was a frivolous suit and criticized Carter for filing it, which led to Carter dropping the suit.

In his last few weeks as Raptors coach, Butch Carter made attempts to ouster friend Glen Grunwald as General Manager, and was cited as one of the reasons why McGrady decided to leave the team and sign with the Orlando Magic. The Raptors organization, players, and fans all had decided that Carter's off-court issues were too much of a distraction for the team going forward.

For the season, the Raptors redesigned their home and road uniforms, removing the zig-zag pinstripes from their previous uniforms. The white home uniforms featured a purple trim, and purple side panels with a red outline on their jerseys and shorts, along with two silver lines on the left and right sides of their jerseys. The purple road uniforms featured a red trim, and black side panels; the back of the road jerseys were also black.^[53][54] The new home uniforms would remain in use until 2006, while the new road uniforms would last until 2003, where the city name "Toronto" would be replaced with the team name "Raptors" on the front of their jerseys.