No. 1: 2017-28
Wrong. Coming off a franchise-record 59-win season earning the top spot in the Eastern Conference, the Raptors looked like they finally put it all together and were ready to make a legitimate run at the Larry O’Brien Trophy.
With Lowry and DeRozan clicking on all cylinders, and the tremendous output from the “bench mob” the Raptors looked like a team built for a deep run in the playoffs. This was until the Mayor of “LeBronto” came to town once again, making his stop in the second round of the 2018 NBA Playoffs.
LeBron James and his Cleveland Cavaliers were coming off a narrow Game 7 victory over the Indiana Pacers, but did not look to be the dangerous squad the Raptors had faced in the previous two post-seasons.
The Cavs were now without All-Star point guard Kyrie Irving, and had shown issues with their depth during the regular season. The Raptors seemed primed and ready to pounce on the King, in a final attempt to snatch the throne from the reigning Eastern Conference champions.
LeBron James owned the Raptors again.
That was the plan at least. In Game 1, the Raptors would fall just short, losing by one point after a missed potential game-winner from Fred VanVleet. James would finish game one with 26 points to go along with 11 rebounds and 13 assists.
In Game 2, Toronto would be decimated by the Cavs, with James going off to the tune of 43 points, 14 assists, and 8 rebounds. There was absolutely nothing the Raptors could do to stop the King from doing whatever he wanted to them, as rookie OG Anunoby had no chance of stopping “Zero-Dark-23”.
Game 3 would be the straw that broke the camel’s back, and would change the course of franchise history as a result. As expected, with the game on the line, the ball was given to James who dribbled down the court and chucked up an off-foot, fadeaway, floater, with Anunoby all over him, only for his shot to bank in at the buzzer.
This shot served as the end of the DeRozan/Lowry era, and as the peak of LeBronto. This shot capped off a 38-point performance for James and this momentum carried into Game 4 of the series. Dwane Casey would be blown out in game four, falling to the Cavs 128-93.
This season was by far and away the most disappointing year in franchise history. After breaking records and exceeding expectations in the regular season, the Raptors had it rendered pointless after just four games in the second round.
To lose is one thing, but to have the team go down the way the Raptors did in this series, serves as a reminder of where the team was with Casey and DeMar DeRozan leading the charge. This showed the extent to where they could get their team with them at the helm, and made it obvious changes needed to be made.
This series would be the reason for making the move to acquire Kawhi Leonard from San Antonio in 2018 offseason, as well as passing coaching duties to Nick Nurse. These moves would become the differentiator in the Raptors 2019 title run, but it took the Raptors hitting rock bottom, to be able to rise to the top.