TORONTO — On Friday, Nov. 3, 1995, Brendan Malone won the first game in Toronto Raptors history, 94-79 over the New Jersey Nets, before 33,306 very loud fans at the SkyDome.
Nuggets coach Michael Malone. (Photo by Andy Cross/The Denver Post)
One of those fans was the coach’s son, Michael.
“We came up as a family to watch my father and they beat the New Jersey Nets,” Malone said. “Ed Pinckney (now a Nuggets assistant) was on that team, I think he won the jump ball against Yinka Dare. Being here for the home opener in franchise history was really a special moment for our family.”
After the heartwarming story, Malone got to the yuks.
“The other story I tell people is basketball was new up here,” he said. “Usually at your home games they hand out balloons and things to wave at the opposing team’s basket. They handed the balloons out. So (Raptors forward) Tracy Murray is shooting free throws and the home fans are waving at him. So there is an education process. I think a lot of the fans were looking for a blue line out in the floor.”
Eh, it was the fans’ first season, too.
Now, they get the thunder sticks right. And the Raptors are no longer beginners. Far from it. They are one of the NBA’s best teams now, but Malone remembers that first night.
“My wife, who was my girlfriend at the time, was up here,” Malone said. “My mother, my father, we went out. I think the name of the restaurant was Grappa, if I remember correctly. It was a special night for my father and for all of us.
“It was a long time ago.”
Follow Chris Dempsey on Twitter @dempseypost or email him at cdempsey@denverpost.com
