Toronto Raptors Preseason Begins — What to expect from training camp, roster, and more

With media day around the corner, and the Raptors heading to Montreal next week, here’s what you can expect this in the next few weeks.

The air is getting crisper and we are creeping towards the NBA preseason. It all starts for the Toronto Raptors on Monday, when they hold media day ahead of their 30th season in the league.

While we aren’t quite at the start of the regular season yet, preseason is right around the corner, so here’s everything you need to know!

Important Dates in the Toronto Raptors Preseason

Media Day — Monday September 30th: It all starts Monday for the Toronto Raptors. The team will hold their media day on Monday, where fans will have their first chance to see players in their new uniforms. Team and player pictures/media will be created, and the team will make some players and staff available to speak to reporters.

Montreal Camp — October 1st-5th: Once media day is over, the team will head to Montreal, where they are holding training camp. There are several events going down in Montreal during the week, including the team’s annual open practice.

Montreal Game - Sunday October 6th: NBA Canada will hold their annual preseason game in Montreal this year, and the Raptors take on the Washington Wizards. It will mark the team’s first preseason game, and will be played at the Bell Centre.

Preseason Games: Once the Raptors play in Montreal, they will head to Washington to play the Wizards again on October 11th. From there they will head to Boston to play the Celtics on October 13th, and then head to Toronto for their single preseason game at Scotiabank, again against the Celtics on October 15th. They will wrap up preseason play with a game in Brooklyn on October 18th.

Rosters Due: The NBA requires all teams to have their opening night rosters finalized by October 21st at 5pm ET. As the Raptors are sending 21 players to training camp, they will need to have their roster down to 15 by this date.

Opening night: While opening night of the NBA is technically on October 22nd, the Raptors don’t play until the next day, October 23rd. The wait will be worth it, as they kick off 30th anniversary celebrations with a home opener against the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Roster Updates

To see the full Toronto Raptors training camp roster, click here.

Injuries: A few injuries have been reported prior to the Raptors preseason. Bruce Brown, who struggled with knee issues after being traded to Toronto in February, had a procedure a few weeks ago. At the time, the team’s update was that he would be re-evaluated prior to the start of the regular season. On Friday, the team announced that rookie Ja’Kobe Walter, their 19th overall draft pick this season, sustained an injury. Walter was injured during informal workouts this week, spraining his shoulder. He will miss training camp and be re-evaluated after.

Exhibit-10’s and training camp invites: You may have noticed the Raptors signing and waiving a few players this week. This was all formalities to finalize their training camp roster. Some of these players will participate in training camp before going down to the Raptors 905 in the G-League. Others are competing for those final spots on the Toronto Raptors roster.

Roster Cuts: The deadline to submit final rosters for opening night is October 21st. Yet, cuts will likely start happening towards the end of training camp, and after that first preseason game. The roster may be cut down well before that hard deadline.

What to expect in the next few weeks

On top of the preseason updates, roster changes, and player content, there will be another fun layer to the lead up to the season. With the Raptors 30th anniversary celebrations kicking off, there will be a lot more excitement happening this season.

It was already reported that the Raptors will retire Vince Carter’s jersey on November 2nd, and expect more celebrations and announcements to follow.