Toronto Raptors returning to Vancouver and here's how to get tickets
The NBA is coming back to Vancouver this October.
The Toronto Raptors and Los Angeles Clippers are playing a preseason game at Rogers Arena on Saturday, Oct. 10, the NBA announced on Wednesday. The matchup is part of the NBA Canada Games (previously known as the NBA Canada Series), which will also feature the first NBA preseason game held in Quebec City, between the Raptors and Miami Heat, on Oct. 3.
The Vancouver game will mark the seventh time the Raptors have visited Rogers Arena since the Vancouver Grizzlies left for Memphis in 2001. It’s also the eighth time the NBA has held a preseason game in Vancouver since establishing the NBA Canada Games in 2012.
Vancouver packed Rogers Arena for an NBA preseason game in 2025. (Mary Kessenich/Daily Hive)
NBA preseason games are always a hit in Vancouver, with the Raptors and Denver Nuggets selling out Rogers Arena last year.
“We feel a lot of love. We feel that the whole city is behind the team,” Raptors head coach Darko RajakoviÄ said of the Vancouver crowd last year. “We were in the locker room before the start of the gameā¦ it was already so loud inside [the arena], and so many fans inside.”
Fans can register their interest online to gain access to exclusive ticket pre-sales. Tickets will go on sale to the general public Aug. 20.
Vancouver is a Raptors town now. (Mary Kessenich/Daily Hive)
“Every time we wear the Raptors jersey, we’re representing the entire country, so it’s always special to have the opportunity to play games in communities across Canada,” Raptors star Scottie Barnes said in a media release. “It’s important to us that fans from coast to coast have the chance to experience Raptors basketball, and we can’t wait to share those moments together this preseason in Quebec City and Vancouver.”
It’s going to be a busy next few months of professional basketball in Vancouver, as the WNBA comes to town in August. The Toronto Tempo are hosting two regular-season games at Rogers Arena in August, against the Portland Fire on Aug. 21 and the Las Vegas Aces on Aug. 23.
Shaquille O’Neal is also coming to Vancouver in August, but not to play basketball.
Fans in Vancouver should get to see Kawhi Leonard during the NBA preseason game — we just don’t know for which team yet. On June 30, the Raptors and Clippers agreed to a trade, which is currently on hold due to an NBA investigation, that would bring Leonard back to Toronto. Kawhi is in limbo until then, as are the players he could be traded for, Brandon Ingram and Gradey Dick.