The Raptors and Maple Leafs already share a building. Now, they'll share a colour scheme as well. The Raptors unveiled the retro Toronto Huskies jersey they'll wear six times this season, beginning with tonight's game against the Minnesota Timberwolves at the Air Canada Centre (The Score, 7 p.m.). The jerseys are designed to honour the 1946-47 Huskies, who took part in the NBA's inaugural season before folding after one year of operation. The white jersey features the word "HUSKIES" written in blue across the front, with the players' jersey number below. The players' name and jersey number are featured on the back.
The Huskies were part of the Basketball Association of America, the forerunner to the NBA. Toronto hosted the first game in league history, a 68-66 loss to the New York Knickerbockers in front of 7,090 at Maple Leaf Gardens. The Huskies finished 22-38, missing the playoffs in their one and only season.
Rookie DeMar DeRozan, who helped model the new uniforms, said it was nice for the Raptors to honour the Huskies.
"We're going back to our roots," said DeRozan. "That was a while ago, way before I was born. It's great to represent what (the city) had so long ago."
Forward Hedo Turkoglu said he was satisfied by the uniforms, and was especially happy that the shorts were a little longer than when the Huskies played.
"Yeah, I'm great with these ones," he laughed. "I don't want to go back that far. That wouldn't look good on us, six games with those shorts. I'll take these."
The Raptors will also wear the blue-and-white uniforms Dec. 18 against New Jersey, Jan. 27 against Miami, Feb. 17 against Memphis, March 5 against New York and March 24 against Utah.
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