When Jeremy Lin wore a Chinese Raptors jersey to the Raptors’ NBA championship parade in 2019, Asian basketball fans went wild.
The then-Raptors point guard had just made history as the first Asian American player in league history to take home the coveted ring, and the Mitchell & Ness retro purple Tracy McGrady jersey with Chinese characters emblazoned on the front brought an extra sense of pride to the Asian community.
Though the jersey is no longer available for commercial sale, Asian Canadian basketball fans can still rep their culture, team and city with a new limited-edition ‘Boba Raptor’ collection from Mitchell & Ness and the Chinese Canadian Youth Athletic Association (CCYAA).
The capsule collection is a celebration of 25+ years of partnership between the Toronto Raptors and CCYAA, a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting sports, fair play and a sense of community for Asian youth across the Greater Toronto Area. It consists of two T-shirts, a long-sleeve tee and a crewneck sweater featuring the Toronto Raptor holding the most universally-loved drink in Asian culture: bubble tea.
“It’s cool to see a brand as prominent as Mitchell & Ness recognizing our culture by fusing Eastern and Western influences together through the common passion of basketball, said CCYAA President Clement Chu in a statement. “And having it tied to entities as mainstream as the NBA and the Toronto Raptors, it really helps to bring a sense of pride to our community.
CCYAA has a rich history with the Raptors having collaborated on many cultural milestones in the community since the mid-90s, including the execution of various community grassroots programs such as Bell Raptorball and Jr NBA, organizing the first-ever Asian Heritage night in NBA history and producing a Toronto Raptors weekly magazine show in Chinese with OMNI and Fairchild TV.
In 2019, they teamed up with actor Simu Liu to hold the inaugural CCYAA Celebrity Classic Basketball Game in support of the Jeremy Lin Foundation. The game featured North American Asian celebrities such as Fresh Off the Boat‘s Hudson Yang, Kim’s Convenience‘s Andrew Phung, Asian Boss Girl host Helen Wu, YouTube star AJ Rafael and TikTok star Leenda Dong.
The CCYAA x Mitchell & Ness ‘Boba Raptor’ collection launches online at ccyaa.org/shop on December 1, 2021 at 10am EST. Prices range from $38—$128, with all proceeds from the sale going towards the CCYAA’s ongoing efforts to promote physical activity and representation in sports for young people in the community. You can check out all the styles in the gallery below.
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