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TSN Raptors Reporter

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With the Toronto Raptors celebrating their 20th anniversary season in 2014-15, Josh Lewenberg and TSN.ca take a look back at the franchise's first two decades with weekly Top Five lists, counting down the standout and signature players and moments in team history.

5. Kapono repeats as Three-Point champ (2008)

Jason Kapono's tenure in Toronto was short-lived and generally underwhelming. Signing a sizeable four-year deal with the Raptors after their division-winning season in 2007, he turned out to be little more than a one-trick pony. However, few mastered that one trick quite like the journeyman sharpshooter. Kapono remains the franchise's all-time leader in three-point accuracy, shooting 45 per cent from long distance in two seasons with the Raptors. His crowning achievement came on All-Star Saturday Night in New Orleans. After winning the Three-Point contest as a member of the Heat a year prior, Kapono defended his title wearing Raptors white and red in 2008, recording a record-setting score of 25 in the final round. The Raptors' guard out-shot Steve Nash, Dirk Nowitzki and Peja Stojakovic, three of the generation's premier shooters, that night. Outside of Ray Allen, who did not compete, there wasn't a better pure shooter in the league at that time.

4. Carter relinquishes starting spot for MJ (2003)

Should he or shouldn't he? That was the underlying debate going into the 2003 All-Star Game when Vince Carter - who had only suited up in 15 contests for the Raptors to that point - faced pressure to give up his starting spot for Michael Jordan, playing in his final NBA season. Carter had been injured for the bulk of the season's first half but was voted in by the fans for the fourth straight season - he had been the league's leading vote getter in each of the previous three. Meanwhile, Jordan - 13 years his elder and fellow North Carolina alum - was putting the finishing touches on his legendary career. This decision was not an easy one for the 26-year-old Carter and wasn't made official until just before tip-off when, at the urging of his teammates, he stepped aside so Jordan could have one last chance to start.

3. Ross pays homage to VC, wins dunk off (2013)

Soft-spoken and unassuming off the court, Terrence Ross was reluctant to enter the Slam Dunk contest as a rookie, citing his lack of creativity. He called himself an "in-game dunker". The wiry swingman had been a pleasant surprise to begin the season, sparking the imagination of fans, who kickstarted the #LetRossDunk movement over social media. Although the field was relatively modest in Houston that year, Ross was a deserving winner of the trophy. Soaring over ballboys, behind the back 360s and off-the-bounce alley-oops got the attention of a hometown judging panel but it was his homage to Carter that got the crowd on his side and sealed the victory. Tossing on a purple no. 15 jersey, Ross took a pass off the side of the backboard and threw it down after yet another mid-air 360.

2. Canadian fans rally to get Lowry in first career All-Star game as starter (2015)

One way or another, Kyle Lowry - the NBA's most notable snub a year before - was poised to become a first-time all-star. In light of his contributions to the Raptors' hot start, it looked like the same coaches that left him off the Eastern Conference roster would now have to acknowledge their mistake and vote him in as a reserve. Lowry trailed Miami's Dwyane Wade, a 10-time all-star, by over 100,000 votes in the final balloting update. However, the Raptors' faithful took matters into their own hands. Over the final weeks of voting, online support for the point guard's all-star bid skyrocketed, primarily north of the border. In the end, Lowry beat out Wade for the second and final starting spot in the East's backcourt by just over 15,000 votes, easily the smallest margin at any position in either conference this season. Over half of that differential can be attributed to Prime Minister Stephen Harper's pair of Twitter votes - retweeted over 8,000 times.

1. Carter's iconic Dunk Contest (2000)

That fateful night in Oakland became a true "where were you when..." type of moment. At a time when the dunk contest had gone stale, and even extinct for three years, Carter put on a show unlike any that preceded it, perhaps ruining the event for the mortals that would attempt to follow in his footsteps. It started with a reverse 360 windmill, then Carter took a bounce pass from teammate Tracy McGrady, put it between his legs and threw it down with one hand. It was iconic, Carter's personal coming-out party and the moment he put Toronto on the basketball map.

Best All-Star Game performances

5. Antonio Davis (starter, 2001): 8 points (4-for-11 FG), 9 rebounds in 20 minutes

4. Vince Carter (starter, 2000): 12 points (6-for-11 FG), 4 rebounds, 2 steals in 28 minutes

3. Chris Bosh (starter, 2008): 14 points (7-for-15 FG), 7 rebounds in 22 minutes

2. Vince Carter (starter, 2001): 16 points (7-for-18 FG), 3 rebounds, 4 assists in 24 minutes

1. Chris Bosh (reserve, 2010): 23 points (9-16 FG), 10 rebounds, 2 steals in 29 minutes