About The Raptors 905
Mississauga, Ontario, is home to what has already become one of the most successful teams in the National Basketball Association's G League. Founded in 2015 and replacing the Mississauga Power of the National Basketball League, the Raptors 905 already have appeared in two G League Finals. They won the G League title in 2017 when they defeated the Rio Grande Valley Vipers.
The 905 name stems from the area code of the Greater Toronto Area, and the rapidly growing suburbs from which the Raptors 905 operate. With a population of more than 720,000, Mississauga is Toronto's largest suburb by far and the sixth most populous municipality in all of Canada.
Raptors 905 play out of the Paramount Fine Foods Centre, which opened as the Hershey Centre in 1998 and has a capacity of 5,400 for basketball. It also is home to the Ontario Hockey League's Mississauga Steelheads, and was a venue for the 2015 Pan and Parapan American Games. For select games, the Raptors 905 play 30 kilometres east at Toronto's Scotiabank Arena, which normally hosts their parent club and has a capacity of 20,270.
The Raptors 905 are owned and operated by the Toronto Raptors, as one can discern from their name. The 905 play in the Atlantic Division of the NBA G League Eastern Conference, which includes the Delaware Blue Coats, Long Island Nets, Maine Red Claws, and Westchester Knicks. All five teams in the division are either affiliated with or owned outright by teams in the NBA Atlantic Division, breeding rivalries that tie in to those of their parent clubs.
Notable players to have suited up for the 905 include Jared Sullinger, Lucas Nogueira, Sim Bhullar, and 2013 NBA Draft No. 1 overall pick Anthony Bennett. Longtime NBA veteran Jerry Stackhouse was selected as the league's Coach of the Year in 2017 after leading the 905 to their first title.
