Toronto, August 2, 2007 - The Toronto Raptors announced Thursday they will tip-off their 13th season in the National Basketball Association as defending Atlantic Division Champions on Wednesday, October 31 against the Philadelphia 76ers at 7 p.m. at Air Canada Centre. This marks the ninth time in team history the club has started the regular season at home. Toronto’s first road action is set for Friday, November 2 against last season’s first-round playoff foe, the New Jersey Nets.

The Raptors will play a season-high nine games at home in October/November. Last season, the Raptors had nine road contests in the first month of the season. The schedule also includes 17 games in March, which ties a team record for most games played in one month (March 1999, March 2000 and March 2003). The longest road swing is a seven-game trip from December 18-31 that is separated between games four and five by a six-day break over the holidays. The longest home stand of the season is four games from March 23-30.

Other noteworthy games in Toronto on the 2007-08 schedule include LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers making two appearances Friday, November 30 and Sunday, January 6; Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen and Paul Pierce bring the new-look Boston Celtics to town Sunday, November 4 and Sunday, December 16; a Wednesday, December 5 contest versus Steve Nash and the Phoenix Suns; Greg Oden, the first-overall pick in the 2007 NBA Draft, and the Portland Trail Blazers will visit the Raptors on Sunday, January 13; Kobe Bryant and his Los Angeles Lakers appear on Friday, February 1; the defending NBA Champion San Antonio Spurs will make their only trip to Air Canada Centre on Monday, February 11; and Shaquille O’Neal, Dwyane Wade and the Miami Heat will be in Toronto on Wednesday, March 19 and Monday, April 14.

Toronto will play its fourth season in the Atlantic Division, joining Boston, New Jersey, New York and Philadelphia. The Raptors were a member of the Central Division from 1995-2004.

The schedule features four games against divisional foes with two home and two away. The remaining 10 conference teams will be played twice at home and on the road with the exception of four teams – two will be played once at home and twice on the road (Atlanta and Chicago) and two will be faced twice at home and once on the road (Milwaukee and Orlando). Each Western Conference team will be played once at home and on the road.

The busiest day for the Raptors this season will be Friday with 22 games on the schedule - 12 at home and 10 on the road. The second-busiest ay is Wednesday with 21 games, including a season-high 15 at home. On the road, Friday is the busiest day with 10 games, followed by Tuesday with nine contests.

The majority of the team’s home games will fall on the weekend with 12 games on a Friday and 11 on a Sunday, accounting for more than half of the 41 home dates.

The Raptors’ busiest month is March with 17 games. The busiest home month is October/November with nine contests, while the busiest road month will be December with the Raptors facing 11 games away from Toronto.

The Raptors will have 20 back-to-back games this season, with a high of eight being a road game followed by another road contest.

The Raptors will conduct a portion of their training camp in preparation for the upcoming season in Europe. They will be one of four teams to partake in NBA Europe Live, holding camp in Italy and Spain from September 29 – October 12. They will play two games in Rome and one in Madrid.

The Raptors will release their 2007 preseason schedule in the near future. The team’s 2007-08 local and national television schedule, along with the Raptors NBA TV broadcast schedule, will be released at a later date.

Raptors season tickets are available by calling (416) 366-DUNK, while single-game ticket information will be released at a later date.

Take a look at the complete schedule