This has felt nearly inevitable for a little while now, what with new global ambassador Drake turning up to the Air Canada Centre with a Vinsanity dino-throwback sewn into the lining of his suit jacket and the team's new 20th anniversary logo bringing back the long-ago-jettisoned purple, font and jagged pinstripe elements, but the Toronto Raptors made it official Thursday: They're bringing back their purple dinosaur jerseys for "select home games" as part of their 2014-15 celebration of 20 years as an NBA franchise.

Here's Raptors power forward Amir Johnson modeling the new old threads:

And here's a promotional video aimed at getting you very excited about the Raptors' past, present and purple future:

The Raptors wore the cartoon dinosaur jerseys from the start of the 1995-96 season through the end of the '98-'99 campaign, going with white at home and purple on the road. They moved from the dino-scheme to a simpler front wordmark in 1999-2000, and dropped purple in 2006-07. Next year, though, with nostalgia at a premium in honoring two decades of Raptors basketball, the dino logo will evidently make several cameo appearances.

“We are excited to bring back a piece of team history as part of our 20th Anniversary celebration,” Raptors GM Masai Ujiri said in a team statement. “Our fans have shown affection for the original purple uniform and I think our players will enjoy the chance to wear them next season.”

The Raptors will undergo a full jersey redesign as part of a franchise rebranding for the 2015-16 season. Drake's expected to have a significant role in that process, which is why some expect the color scheme to skew more toward the black and gold that he favors. Whether a cartoon dinosaur will be part of the picture, though, remains unclear.

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Hat-tip to r/NBA.

Dan Devine is an editor for Ball Don't Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at devine@yahoo-inc.com or follow him on Twitter!

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