Toronto Raptors President and General Manager Masai Ujiri announced Tuesday the club and head coach Dwane Casey have agreed on principal terms of a three-year contract extension through the 2018-19 season. The past season, Casey guided the Raptors to a team-record 56 regular season wins, an Atlantic Division championship and a berth in the Eastern Conference Finals.
“Dwane has done an excellent job leading our teams to success on the court and with helping us to develop a winning culture throughout our organization,” said Ujiri. “Continuity is a part of establishing that culture. We are confident that with Dwane’s leadership we will continue to grow our franchise.”
In his five campaigns at the helm of the Raptors, Casey has posted a 210-184 record (.533), including a .622 mark (153-93) over the past three seasons. The 153 victories from 2013-16 is tops in the Eastern Conference.
Under Casey’s leadership the Raptors have won three consecutive Atlantic Division crowns and improved their regular season win total in each of his five seasons – a first in team history. Casey became the all-time winningest coach in franchise history (157 victories) November 1 and coached his 346th game with the Raptors on January 1, becoming the longest tenured coach in team history.
“My family and I are very appreciative to ownership and Masai for the opportunity to continue to lead the growth of our program,” said Casey. “We are energized with the idea of the potential we have with our core players and the development of our young players. Our goal has been and will be to build a program that is competing for a championship year in and year out.”
In 2015-16, the Raptors finished second in the Eastern Conference, the highest position in franchise annuals. In addition to the record 56 victories, the team set franchise marks for home wins (32), road wins (23), wins versus the Eastern Conference (39), wins versus the Western Conference (17) and longest winning streak (11, January 6-30).
Casey earned his third Eastern Conference Coach of the Month award after guiding the Raptors to a 12-2 mark in January, setting a team record for wins in January and the best winning percentage (.857) in a month with 10 or more games. He is the only coach in franchise history to earn Coach of the Month honours multiple times (November 2014 and December 2013).
In 2014-15, Casey directed the Raptors to a second consecutive Atlantic Division title and 49 victories. His club had sole possession of first place in the Eastern Conference for the first time in team history and remained there from November 4 – January 1. In 2013-14, the Raptors recorded 48 wins, an Atlantic Division championship and the third overall seed in the Eastern Conference.
Casey was named head coach of the Raptors on June 21, 2011, just nine days after he helped lead the Dallas Mavericks to the 2011 NBA Championship. He has served as a head coach, associate head coach and assistant coach during his 21 seasons in the NBA.