The Toronto Raptors unlikely path to an NBA Championship

The Toronto Raptors are NBA Champions. The path wasn’t easy, and it certainly wasn’t conventional, but through it all, the Raptors survived.

Just over one year ago, the Toronto Raptors were being on embarrassed on the national stage once again. LeBron James was hitting game-winners, practicing fall-aways just for fun, and re-naming the city in his likeness.

The Raptors, after being an irrelevant franchise for so many years, were no longer irrelevant. They were a punchline. A joke.

Masai Ujiri and the Raptors’ decision-makers didn’t accept that. They didn’t accept the regular season success and solid attendance for each game. They wanted more.

So the franchise pushed all their chips into the middle of the table and made a move. They acquired disgruntled star Kawhi Leonard and teammate Danny Green for franchise staple DeMar DeRozan, young prospect Jakob Poeltl, and a first-round pick.

Some mild controversy brewed around the team. Was Kyle Lowry upset that his best friend was traded? Did Kawhi Leonard even want to play for the Raptors? Did the franchise make a mistake?

Successful regular season

Still, the regular season started like any other year, and Toronto found regular season success just like any other year.

Kawhi Leonard was in and out of the lineup all year with “load management”, Kyle Lowry missed serious time with a back injury, and the team shuffled through multiple starting lineups in the first few months.

Despite the roster shakeups, despite the injuries, Toronto had the second best record in the NBA at the trade deadline. With a roster in flux,  it would have been easy for the Raptors to stand pat, to think this team was good enough.

Masai Ujiri didn’t do that. Once again, he made his move. The Raptors traded Jonas Valanciunas, Delon Wright, and C.J. Miles, three critical parts of the Raptors rotation last season, for Marc Gasol. Again, Toronto was putting it all on the line for this season.

The postseason run

The Raptors entered the postseason as the second overall seed in the Eastern Conference.

Despite an eventful regular season, they finished with a 58-24 record and would face off against an undermanned, under .500 Orlando Magic squad. Toronto entered the series as HEAVY favorites.

So when the Raptors lost the first game of the series as Kyle Lowry went scoreless and D.J. Augustin dropped 25, familiar storylines popped up. “Same old Raptors”, “Toronto chokes again”.

Then, the Raptors went on to win four straight, crushing the Magic during that time.

When Toronto went down 2-1 to Philly, things looked bleak again. Joel Embiid was rampaging through the middle of the lane throwing down windmill jams, and the Raptors looked lost.

It took seven, but once again, the Raptors rallied. Kawhi Leonard hit the greatest shot in franchise history and the first Game 7 buzzer-beater in the history of the NBA, willing Toronto to a victory.

Next, they faced the first overall seed, 60-win Milwaukee Bucks. Milwaukee had won eight of nine playoff games, had a historically great regular season Netrating, and the likely MVP, Giannis Antetokounmpo. When the Raptors lost the first two games, many declared the series over.

Toronto put their head down and focussed on winning the next game. They did that. Then, they focussed on winning Game 4. They did that as well. Two games after that, Toronto found themselves advancing to the NBA Finals for the first time in NBA history, after coming back to beat the Bucks in six games.

Their final test: The Golden State Warriors. The best dynasty since the 90’s Chicago Bulls, and one of the best teams of all-time. Golden State would play the essentially the entire series without All-Star Kevin Durant. However, with Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green, and company, it’s not as if they were lacking for talent.

Toronto didn’t fall behind this series. They took care of business. The Raptors took a commanding 3-1 series lead and prepared a closeout Game 5 to win the NBA title.

Toronto trailed all game long, including by a hefty 14-point margin midway through the third quarter.

Then, as they did all season, the Raptors fought back. Kyle Lowry, who was horrible in the first half, battled back with a big-time performance. Kawhi Leonard, who was terrible for the first 3.5 quarters of the game, put a country on his back.

The Raptors had a chance for the win in the closing seconds, but it couldn’t be that easy. Kyle Lowry’s shot was blocked by Draymond Green. The series would go back to Oracle for a Game 6.

Game 6 was a battle. Lowry, after being maligned as a postseason choke-artist for much of his career, dominated the first. Pascal Siakam, after struggling much of this postseason, scored a team-high 26 points. Fred VanVleet cashed-in on his bet. Kawhi Leonard won his 2nd Finals MVP.

The Toronto Raptors, in their 24th season, won the NBA Championship. The Toronto Raptors, who were almost torn down to start the rebuilding process, won the NBA Championship. The Toronto Raptors, who do not have a lottery pick on their roster,  won the NBA Championship.

The Toronto Raptors, Canada’s team, won the NBA Championship.