Toronto Raptors team up with Canadian WNBA stars for Olympic run

In an innovative move, the Toronto Raptors have teamed up with Canada Basketball and Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment to raise the profile of Canadian women’s basketball on the international stage as they prepare for the 2024 Paris Olympics.

The initiative, announced Nov. 1, features the Raptors’ iconic imagery prominently represented on the jerseys of the Canadian senior women’s national team, ranked fifth in the world, as Gist reports. Notably, the team’s shorts will feature the Raptors’ logo during games leading up to the Olympics.

To kick off this partnership, a basketball training course for girls took place in Toronto, with athletes from the Canadian national team acting as guest coaches. Among those in attendance were Canadian WNBA stars Kia Nurse, Natalie Achonwa, Bridget Carleton and Laeticia Amihere, showcasing Canada’s major talent. Carleton took advantage of the moment express their wishes for a WNBA team in Toronto.

“I would love to have a WNBA team in Toronto – wouldn’t everyone here like that? I just wanted it to work, but the league is still expanding, it’s moving in the right direction and I think the excitement for women’s sports in Toronto and Canada continues to grow,” Carleton said, as CBC’s Myles Poet reported News.

This partnership comes against the backdrop of a rich basketball tradition in Canada, where the sport has over a century of history and was invented by a Canadian. The current popularity of women’s basketball in the country was demonstrated when a WNBA exhibition game in early May sold out the 19,800 seats at the Scotiabank Arena in a single day. Additionally, viewership for WNBA regular season games in Canada has skyrocketed, with an increase of over 95% over the past three years.

While MLSE has stepped back from its WNBA expansion venture, its commitment to supporting women’s basketball remains unwavering.