The Toronto Raptors have made 35 National Basketball Association (NBA) draft selections during their draft history. The Raptors began as an expansion team in 1995 and first participated in the NBA draft on June 28, 1995, at SkyDome, now known as Rogers Centre, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.[1] In 1989, the NBA agreed with the National Basketball Players' Association to limit drafts to two rounds, an arrangement that has remained the same up the present time.[2] Before each draft, an NBA draft lottery determines the first round selection order for the teams that missed the playoffs during the prior season.[2] Teams can also trade their picks, which means that in some drafts teams may have more or less than two draft picks, although they must have at least one first-round pick every other year.[3]
The first pick in Toronto Raptors' history was Damon Stoudamire, a point guard from the University of Arizona, who was the seventh overall pick in the 1995 NBA draft. People in the crowd were surprised by this pick because they expected the Raptors to pick Ed O'Bannon from UCLA. In their second pick of the same draft, Fab Five member Jimmy King from Michigan was drafted in the second round.[1] The Raptors won the first overall pick in 1996, but they had to give that up due to the expansion agreement with the league.[4]Chris Bosh was selected by the Raptors as the fourth pick overall in the 2003 NBA draft, and he went on to play in three all-star games, while starting in two.[5][6][7][8]Andrea Bargnani, who was selected by the Raptors with the first overall pick of the 2006 NBA draft, became the first European to be picked first overall in the NBA draft.[5][9]
h 12 On June 24, 2004, Toronto acquired the draft rights to Pape Sow and a 2005 second round draft pick from the Miami Heat in exchange for the draft rights to Albert Miralles.[18]
k On January 31, 2006, Toronto acquired the 2006, which originally belonged to the Miami Heat, and 2009 second round draft picks from the New Orleans Hornets in exchange for Aaron Williams.[21]
l On June 28, 2006, Toronto acquired cash considerations from the Philadelphia 76ers in exchange for the draft rights to Edin Bavčić.[22]
