The Toronto Raptors finally exorcised their playoff demons

Kawhi Leonard made one of the greatest shots in the history of the NBA Sunday night. The game-winning field-goal sent the Toronto Raptors to the Eastern Conference Finals and erased 18 years of pain and frustration.

By now, I’m sure you’ve seen it. Kawhi Leonard’s game-winning, buzzer-beating shot in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals was seen, heard and witnessed by millions around the world. Because of it, the Toronto Raptors will move on to the Eastern Conference Finals.

But we’ll get to that later.

To understand what that shot, and this playoff run, means to Raptors fans, the city of Toronto, and Canadian basketball, we need to go back 20 years.

Vinsanity

The 1998-99 NBA season was year number four of the Toronto Raptors franchise. As is typical with expansion teams in their early years, the Raptors hadn’t accomplished much to that point.

In the 1998 NBA draft, Toronto selected Vince Carter from the University of North Carolina. Carter found instant success in the league, and when Carter won rookie of the year, the Raptors were suddenly a relevant team.

Carter would soon become one of the most entertaining players in the league. His legacy as one of the greatest dunkers of all time was cemented during the 2000 NBA Dunk Contest, where the contest’s judges literally bowed down to him in awe.

He was more than just a dunker though – he could shoot from three, from the midrange, and he could finish creatively at the rim.

By 2001, the Raptors had assembled enough talent and veteran leadership around Carter to make the playoffs as a dark-horse contender. Toronto advanced to the second round after a tough series with the New York Knicks and faced off against the Philadelphia 76ers, who employed league MVP, Allen Iverson.

The series went seven games, with the final game to be played in Philadelphia. With exactly two seconds left in the game, the 76ers were up 88-87, and the Raptors had the ball in the frontcourt.

They had one shot. If it fell, they’d win, if it didn’t, they’d be sent home.

Dell Curry, the father of Stephen Curry, was the inbounds passer, and everyone knew who the ball was going to. Carter broke towards the ball, receiving it on the left side of the floor, just inside the three-point line.

He caught it right in front of the Toronto Raptors bench, squared up, and pump-faked. A 76ers defender flew by him, leaving him open with about one second on the clock.

He took a long two-point shot, and once it left his hands, it looked good. From the moment he released the shot, it was clear it was on-line.

The question was: will it fall short, will it go in, or will it go long?

The ball hit the back side of the rim, it bounced up, the buzzer sounded, and the ball fell away from the basket and to the floor.

The game was over. The series was over, and although it wasn’t known then, Vince Carter’s playoff success with the Toronto Raptors was over. By 2004, Carter was a New Jersey Net, and the franchise was never the same.

The Bosh Years

The 2003-04 season saw a hugely talented set of rookies enter the league. Most notably, LeBron James, who was selected first overall by the Cleveland Cavaliers.

The fourth overall selection went to Toronto, who selected Chris Bosh out of Georgia Tech. He belonged to a new class of power forwards who were big enough to play in the post, but could also shoot and handle the ball.

Thanks to Bosh’s play, the Toronto Raptors were back in the playoffs by 2007.

After losing to none other than Vince Carter and the Nets in the first round of the 2007 NBA playoffs, the Raptors were back in the playoffs a year later as a #6 seed, set to face off against the Orlando Magic.

The Raptors lost in 5 games.

Chris Bosh would never again make the playoffs as a Raptor, and in the summer of 2010, he left Toronto for Miami, where he became a two-time NBA champion as a member of the Miami Heat.

The DeRozan Era

DeMar DeRozan was drafted ninth overall by the Raptors in the 2009 NBA draft.

He began his career with a limited offensive skill set but gradually improved every year. After a few seasons of internal development, it was clear that the Toronto Raptors had something in DeRozan.

In 2012, the Raptors traded for Kyle Lowry, and DeRozan was given the gift of a running mate.

Lowry and DeRozan would go on to lift the Raptors to new heights, getting them back to the playoffs, and most-notably to Game 6 of the 2016 Eastern Conference Finals against the eventual NBA Champion Cleveland Cavaliers.

The DeRozan-Lowry Raptors stayed competitive following that season, but the team ran into LeBron James’ Cavaliers in the next two postseasons. The Raptors were swept both times.

Toronto was a good team, but after multiple postseason failures, it became clear they weren’t good enough to seriously compete.

What happened next was unusual by Raptors standards. Toronto president Masai Ujiri decided that this time, things needed to be done differently.

He traded his leading scorer and franchise player for an unassuming former Finals MVP whose health was still in question. It was a big risk, but the deal was done, and the rest is history. Kawhi Leonard was officially a Toronto Raptor.

The 2018-2019 season and the Kawhi Leonard shot

The 2018-19 season represents a fresh start, no matter what the ultimate outcome is. The Raptors are a new team, with a new head coach, and new expectations.

Still, the Toronto Raptors had the opportunity to exorcise their scariest demons. Against Orlando in the opening round, Toronto lost Game 1, and there was the usual panic.

They went on to win four in a row, winning the series in five games. It was poetically just that the Raptors beat Orlando in five games after losing to them in five games with Chris Bosh, 11 years earlier.

Another demon the Raptors wrestled was the fact that they had never eliminated an opponent so quickly. Even as a #1 seed last season, it took six games to eliminate the Washington Wizards.

This time the Raptors finally did what a true contender should do, and won in the first round convincingly.

Next up was Philadelphia in round two, again, 18 years later. Poetically once again, the series would go seven games.

Much like Game 7 back in 2001, the game was an ugly, low-scoring slugfest. Exactly like Game 7 back in 2001, the Raptors had the ball in the dying seconds, with a chance to win the game.

Everyone knew who the ball was going to.

Leonard broke towards the ball, receiving it on the left side of the floor, just outside the three-point line. With 4.2 seconds on the clock, he had time to take four dribbles towards the far-right corner of the court.

He stopped just before the baseline, right in front of the Raptors bench, and pulled up. Once it left his hands, it looked good. From the moment he released the shot, it was clear that it was going to be on-line.

The question was: will it fall short, will it go in, or will it go long?

The buzzer sounded, the ball hit the right side of the rim and bounced up.

Instead of bouncing away though, the ball came straight back down, hitting the rim again. The ball then flew across the cylinder and bounced on the other side another two times for good measure. Then it gently fell in.

In that precise moment, 18 years of pain, sadness, and frustration was gone.

The Eastern Conference Finals

After defeating the Raptors In 2001, the 76ers went on to face the Milwaukee Bucks in the Eastern Conference Finals. This time it will be the Raptors facing off against the Bucks.

Although the Bucks will be favoured, the Raptors have a shot. They have a shot to exorcise their final demon and reach the NBA Finals for the first time in franchise history.

In 2001, the #1 seed 76ers and #2 seed Bucks needed seven games to decide who would represent the Eastern Conference in the NBA Finals, and Philadelphia came out on top. Milwaukee hasn’t been back to a conference final since.

Now, the #1 seed Bucks and #2 seed Raptors are set for an epic battle 18 years in the making. This should be fun.