The Toronto Raptors Continue Their Rebrand With A Slick New Court Design

Air Canada Centre
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The Toronto Raptors have undergone an extreme rebranding campaign over the past few seasons, from the “We The North” slogan to naming Drake a team ambassador to new uniforms and a redesigned logo. Now, the Raptors have carried the construction to their actual court, completely redesigning it to reflect their new direction.

The new “Raptor-claw-tearing-through-a-basketball” logo is featured prominently in the center, while “We The North” adorns the sidelines. The blood-red framing, which also fills the lane, really makes the rest of the court pop. It’s almost a little intimidating, actually.

For a while, there were rumblings that the Raptors were considering a name change, which makes sense once you remember that the Raptors, created in 1993, only chose the name to capitalize on the popularity of Jurassic Park. The rebrand would have been the perfect time to change the name, maybe committing to something with a bit more Canadian flavor (the Poutines? The Moose?). Instead, it looks like “Raptors” is here to stay, which is perfectly fine. The city has embraced the team like never before, so there’s no immediate need to make a change just to make a change. It may be a little silly, having an extinct animal as your mascot, but sports are pretty silly on the surface anyway.

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