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Jake Harper

A Nostalgic Look Back at the 2019 Raptors.

Jake Harper |



The 2019 season for the Toronto Raptors went down as one of the best team seasons of all time. In the offseason of 2018, there was a trade announced. Ultimately Demar DeRozan was leaving Toronto to go to the Spurs in exchange for NBA Finals MVP Kawhi Lenord. At first, all of the Raptors fan base hated what had gone down and thought that they were just throwing another season away just to lose again to Lebron James in the playoffs. As the season went on it felt like all the other seasons before this one. Dominating the regular season and then getting wiped in the first round. So as the regular season ended they were able to achieve the first seed. So Raptor fans had high hopes, but like always, were able to cope with the fact that they might lose yet again. But there was a huge change this year that differed from others. LeBron joined the Lakers in the summer offseason of 2018. So Raptor fans rejoiced, remembering that the Eastern Conference foe who haunted them for many years was unable to face them in April.


2019 Toronto Raptors with NBA Finals Trophy, Via Sporting News

The first round of the playoffs began and the Raptors were facing the Orlando Magic who were the eighth seed and barely snuck into the playoffs. The first game was close. As the clock ticked closer to zero, the Magic were able to hold possession to potentially take the last shot. As seconds ran off the clock, DJ Agustine nailed a three-point jumper to seal the first win for the Magic in Toronto. The fans were aggravated and ready to give up. They also felt that they had lost their opportunity to go far in the playoffs even if LeBron wasn’t playing in it because they had fired their previous coach Dwayne Casey who was successful with the team. As the days passed after the first game, bad news and rumors about the Raptors fanbase and locker room were spreading. All of this was a major over-exaggeration, because as expected, they handled business and went on to win the next four games and go to the quarter-finals. 

Next up was a big one facing up against the Philadelphia 76ers with star players like Ben Simmons, Jimmy Butler, and Joel Embid. The series started, and the Raptors come out strong, taking an easy game at home. Game two, unfortunately, did not go the same way and the Sixers won in Canada. Heading back to Philadelphia, the Sixers prevailed again and took a commanding 2-1 lead. But the Raptors ended the two-game losing streak, sneaking out of the City of Brotherly Love with a 101-96 win. At this point, everyone knew it was going to be a good clash of titans, but fans didn’t really know how it was going to end up for either team. As the series carried on, other matchups in the East and West were starting to be sorted out. 

The Raptors then win again back at home, but the Sixers do the same at their home court. So we got a game seven in Scotia Bank Arena and everyone was anticipating this to be a big playoff game, WIN OR GO HOME. As the game went on, both teams traded buckets. As the fourth quarter was coming to a close, the Raptors were up by two with about 30 seconds left. Jimmy Butler got a steal to tie the game at 90 a piece. The entire arena was stunned. Everybody assumed the Raptors were just going to dribble out the clock and make their free throws to ice the series. Everyone was nervous and assumed that there would be overtime. The Raptors walked out of the timeout and everyone in the arena knew where the ball was heading: into Kawhi Leonard’s hands. Siakam inbounds, “it is off to Leonard, defended by Simmons, is this the Dagger?” Kawhi shoots the ball. The crowd goes silent. You could hear a pin drop in the stadium. The parabolic arc the ball was going on led it right to the rim. It bounced once on the side. Then another time, then another, then it bounced off the rim and went right into the hoop, “OHHHHHHHHHHH, GAME, SERIES, TORONTO HAS WON!” And there it was, Kawhi Leonard won it in the deep right hand corner over Joel Embid. The ball bounced a good four to five times, and it somehow went through the net. It was straight out of a movie, poetry in motion by Kawhi Leonard. 

The Raptors had all the momentum going into the Eastern Conference Finals against the Milwaukee Bucks. The first game was tight, but the Bucks picked up a tough win on the road and the Raptors hope to get revenge in game two. Unfortunately it did not go their way with the Bucks destroying them, and getting both wins in Toronto before heading back home. And all of a sudden, the Raptors had lost everything that they got from that game seven wins against the Sixers. But the Raptors yet again, just like the Magic and Sixers series, faced adversity. They were able to win the series showing that they were built for the moment. 

Though Lebron may not be there to beat them this time, the “superteam” Golden State Warriors led by stars Kevin Durant and Steph Curry were all but assured of beating them. The series started and just like that the Raptors take a 118-109 win over the Warriors at home. A complete shock to the basketball world. The fun only lasted until the next matchup, though, as Klay Thompson buried a dagger which was the equalizer in the series for the moment. Now, in Golden State, the Raptors miraculously win both games, taking a demanding 3-1 lead over the Warriors. Ironically, the Warriors were now down 3-1 in an NBA Finals matchup. The odds had shifted in the Raptors' favor and they looked to win at home for their fans. Unfortunately, they were unable to do so and so game six was their second of their three chances to take down the two-time defending champions. It was an emotional game filled with aggressive defending, but Kawhi Leonard’s heroics along with some untimely injuries for the Warriors handed Toronto their first-ever NBA Title.

Even though the Raptors haven’t been the same since that day, the legacy of that team and the amazing run they had will live on forever in the hearts of all Canadian basketball fans.  




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