To celebrate Vince Carter‘s election into the Basketball Hall of Fame this past weekend, the Toronto Raptors released a new graphic honouring the man who was largely responsible for putting the Raptors on the map in the NBA.
The graphic is an epic throwback to the franchise’s early days, to Carter’s first years in Toronto. It shows the red raptor dinosaur, which was both part of the original Toronto Raptors logo and the first Raptors uniform (which Vince wore in his rookie season), performing Carter’s legendary dunk from the 2000 NBA Slam Dunk contest. The dinosaur is shown wearing the same purple and black Raptors uniform style that Carter wore when he pulled off the stunt, the same as the club’s road look from 2000 to 2006. This overall design has been trimmed in gold, which wasn’t present on the original logo.
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Fans immediately fell in love with this design, with reaction on the socials in near-universal praise, many calling for this style to return to the Raptors full-time:
Of course, there were a few out there who remember how this overall logo and uniform look was perceived when it was actually worn, which was not positive:
People really don't remember how the organization was eviscerated for having this as their original logo back in the 90s?
— RANGERS ARE WORLD CHAMPIONS (@RowdyCMoore) April 7, 2024
They’re absolutely right. I despised the original Raptors uniform at the time, even though I was a 12-year-old from Toronto, which was the exact demo this whole package was created for. Of course, nostalgia is a powerful beast; here in 2024, now as a guy in his 40s (wait, when did *that* happen?), I would love to see the Raptors return to purple full-time with a modernized version of the original Raptors jersey, perhaps worn occasionally as an alternate option.
LINK: Toronto Raptors complete logo and uniform history
LINK: Vince Carter’s complete career logo and uniform history
For what it’s worth, I saw this logo making the rounds behind the scenes as early as three months ago. The rumblings at the time suggested this graphic was made either for the Raptors 2024/25 City Edition uniform or to be released alongside a throwback uniform to celebrate the club’s 30th season.
Sadly, I cannot confirm that this logo or the 2000-2006 uniform will be used in-game next season (my hunch is the club will wear the uniform as a throwback), but I *can* at least confirm that this Raptor/Vince Carter dunk logo will be featured on Raptors merchandise sometime between now and next season. So, I gotta say that’s a good sign that we’ll see it on the court in some fashion.
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