The Toronto Raptors don't have the best history existing in the same conference as LeBron James. If the latest reporting is to be believed, he is about to return to the Eastern Conference and begin terrorizing the Raptors once more.
The history between James and the Raptors is both long and painful, at least if you root for Toronto. While it's true that LeBron dominated the entire league over the course of his 23 years in the NBA, he appears to have inflicted a special kind of hurt on the Raptors.
LeBron James owned Toronto
For three years from 2016 to 2018, it was LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers who stood in the way of the Raptors reaching the NBA Finals. In 2016, he disrespected the franchise (and perhaps the entire nation of Canada) when he was asked about his sense of calm heading into Game 5, the series tied 2-2.
His response? "I've been a part of some really adverse situations,” James said postgame after demolishing the Raps, “and I just didn't believe that this was one of them." The Cavs would close it out in Game 6.
In each of the next two seasons, Toronto would face LeBron in the second round of the Eastern Conference playoffs. The outcome of those two series? LeBron won 8 games, the Raptors won 0.
It was so bad that the term "LeBronto" was coined to describe the way James absolutely dominated the Raptors. He was unstoppable when facing Toronto. And on his way to eight consecutive NBA Finals, he steamrolled the Raptors on multiple occasions.
The following year, in 2019, two things happened. The Raptors added Kawhi Leonard, Danny Green and Marc Gasol and made it to the NBA Finals for the first time as a franchise, winning the championship.
The other? LeBron James left the East and joined the Los Angeles Lakers, paving the way for another team to break through.
LeBron is coming back to haunt them
And now, just as the Raptors have rebuilt an East contender and even traded for Kawhi Leonard once more, their worst nightmare is manifesting before their eyes: LeBron is headed back East to stand in their way once more.
It's not a done deal, yet, as LeBron has not yet announced his decision. The reporting is increasingly narrowing to the Eastern Conference as his final landing spot, however. On Tuesday, Shams Charania of ESPN declared his top three teams as the Philadelphia 76ers, the Miami Heat and the Cleveland Cavaliers.
The Miami Heat, Cleveland Cavaliers, and 76ers appear to be the top 3 teams in the LeBron sweepstakes, per @ShamsCharania
— Heat Central (@TheHeatCentral) July 7, 2026
“When the Sixers got Jaylen Brown I did some research and he (LeBron) is taking their pitch very seriously. When I talk to teams now I have a hierarchy of… https://t.co/8oRWqPV2Bb pic.twitter.com/zuAqeQdcVo
Charania's coworker at ESPN, Brian Windhorst, is pointing to the Cavaliers as the clear frontrunner. And West teams like the Golden State Warriors, Minnesota Timberwolves and Denver Nuggets appear to be coming to terms with the reality that he is probably not going to stay in the West.
That is a bitter pill for the Raptors to swallow. They are certainly in a different place than a decade ago, with a team built through the frontcourt with Leonard and Scottie Barnes. LeBron is also not the same individual force that he was then, an All-Star rather than an MVP.
And yet the hurdle that the Raptors never overcame was LeBron James. They won a championship, yes, but they never killed that particular demon. And now it has come back to haunt them.
If the Raptors want to make a run at a second championship for the franchise, they just might have to go through LeBron James once more. And that is a terrifying proposition.
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