Today #believethehype are featuring a great throwback game from the 1995 Pre-Season… the 1995 Naismith Cup match between the Vancouver Grizzlies & the Toronto Raptors. This was the first ever meeting between the two Canadian expansion teams.

The Naismith Cup was set-up to be an annual pre-season clash between these two teams. It was designed to take this rivalry & NBA Basketball to neutral cities across Canada.

The Cup was named after James Naismith, the inventor of basketball & proud Canadian, and was originally created to raise money for basketball in Canada & increase the popularity of the sport across the country.

The inaugural Cup was held in Winnipeg & won by the Toronto Raptors 98-77 in front of over 11,000 fans.

The game features both teams marquee rookies – Byrant Reeves (Vancouver) who comes off the bench & Damon Stoudamire (Toronto) who starts.

The tournament was cancelled after the Grizzlies moved to Memphis leaving the Raptors to hold the cup for good after winning 4 of the 5 clashes.

Check it out…