Almost put this in Fantasy - Toronto Raptors win NBA Championship!

[Tribble]

Seriously, if you had asked me even a month ago if this were possible I would have said odds were very slim to none, but there you go:

Raptors make NBA history by defeating Warriors to win Finals

The Toronto Raptors have made NBA history by winning Game 6 of the Finals Thursday night, marking the first time a Canadian team has won the championship.
The Raptors defeated the Golden State Warriors 114-110 at Oracle Arena in Oakland, Calif.

“Canada, we brought it home, baby. Canada, we brought it home,” Kyle Lowry emphatically said after the team was presented with the Larry O’Brien NBA Championship Trophy.

Kawhi Leonard, who scored 22 points in Game 6, was named Finals MVP. This is the second time he received that honour — the first was when he was with the San Antonio Spurs.
There were unconfirmed reports a parade will be held in downtown Toronto on Monday. An announcement was scheduled to be made on Friday.
Thursday’s win caps a stunning playoff run for the Raptors. Toronto defeated the Orlando Magic, the Philadelphia 76ers and the Milwaukee Bucks to face off in the Finals against the two-time defending champions.
Since the beginning of the 2018-19 season, Raptors President Masai Ujiri set the lofty goal of securing the top NBA title. The team acquired Leonard from the San Antonio Spurs along with Danny Green in exchange for DeMar DeRozan. Marc Gasol was later added to the roster at the trade deadline in February.

“We all know where my (preferred) destinations were (last summer),” Leonard said when asked to reflect on his trade to Toronto.
“But obviously like I said, when I was there on my opening-day meeting that I was focused on the now, and I wanted to make history here and that’s all I did. I’m still playing basketball no matter what jersey I have on.”
Toronto had a strong first quarter Thursday night and at one point led it by nine points. Kyle Lowry sunk four three-pointers and Pascal Siakam another two. Despite rotating leads in the second quarter, the Raptors went into the half ahead 60-57.

As the Warriors took a lead in the third quarter, Klay Thompson — who scored 30 points — suffered an apparent knee injury. He was briefly assessed by doctors before returning to the court to shoot two free throws on a foul, but left right after for further assessment. Toronto and Golden State were neck and neck in the remaining quarter, but the Raptors came out on top.
In the end, the Raptors showed a stronger offensive effort in Game 6. Toronto scored 13 three-pointers — three more than scored throughout Game 5. Golden State scored 11.
Lowry ended up scoring 26 points while Siakam got 26 points. Fred VanVleet scored 22 points.
Andre Iguodala and Stephen Curry followed Thompson in scoring for the Warriors, getting 22 and 21 points respectively.
Nick Nurse, who was appointed head coach of the Raptors at the beginning of the 2018-19 after Dwane Casey was fired, reflected on all the changes the team faced over the past season.
“It was a heck of a 12 months … I just try to take things as they come,” he told reporters Thursday night.
“It was a great group. They really played together. I thought they really fought hard. They were tough-minded … Two months of playoff basketball, they never seemed tired to me mentally. They kept wanting the film sessions, they kept wanting to walk through things, they kept wanting to keep learning and improving.”
Warriors head coach Steve Kerr congratulated the Raptors on their win Thursday night.
“They’re a fantastic basketball team — great defensively, they share the ball, play a beautiful style, a lot of great two-way players,” he said.
“Winning a championship is an ultimate in this league and they’ve got a lot of guys who’ve earned this. So congrats to Toronto, to their organization, to their fans — they are a worthy champion.”

Thursday’s matchup at Oracle Arena marked the last game to be held at the facility. Golden State will be moving to the new Chase Center in San Francisco as of the 2019-20 NBA season.
Back in Toronto, thousands of fans who attended Jurassic Park and surrounding streets outside the arena took over the streets in celebration of the Raptors. People could be seen on vehicles and climbing signs.
Other cities in Ontario, such as Mississauga, Barrie, Kitchener, Burlington, and in Canada held viewing parties on Thursday and throughout the NBA Finals.
— With files from The Canadian Press

https://globalnews.ca/news/5374267/toro ... ba-finals/


It was a pretty epic game to watch as it was back and forth the entire time. Perhaps more spectacular was the aftermath though - I was downtown and I don't I've ever seen Toronto go quite that nuts before.

So ya, first time Toronto / Canada has won an NBA Championship, first time Toronto has won a major sport since 1993, so overall quite a fun experience.

[Jub]

Both game 5 and game 6 were nail biters down to the last fractions of seconds. I'm just glad the series didn't have to go to a game 7 where I'm convinced the Warriors would have taken the win.

The entire run was great. With so many different Raptors stepped up when it was their turn to carry the load. From the first basket scored, to the shot that hung in the air forever, to Kawhi's final free throws it was pretty unforgettable.

[mr friendly guy]

Would the phrase "The north remembers" be a bit too cheesy.

[Tribble]

Would the phrase "The north remembers" be a bit too cheesy.

Even cheesier would be “Hufflepuff Wins!”

This guy sums up the night:

https://globalnews.ca/news/5390441/fan- ... mpionship/

[Gandalf]

Now that GSW isn't going to be some dynasty like the Celtics/Lakers of the eighties, or the nineties Bulls, I wonder what that will do for attendance at their new location?

Both game 5 and game 6 were nail biters down to the last fractions of seconds. I'm just glad the series didn't have to go to a game 7 where I'm convinced the Warriors would have taken the win.

I think that without KD, they just weren't the same team for those high pressure situations. The Warriors were good, but the Raptors just had them outclassed as a team. But it's all speculation, so who the fuck knows.

The entire run was great. With so many different Raptors stepped up when it was their turn to carry the load. From the first basket scored, to the shot that hung in the air forever, to Kawhi's final free throws it was pretty unforgettable.

I agree completely. Certainly beats the last Superbowl.

[Tribble]

I think that without KD, they just weren't the same team for those high pressure situations. The Warriors were good, but the Raptors just had them outclassed as a team. But it's all speculation, so who the fuck knows.

Ya, I've had some discussions on this. Some may think that it wasn't a true victory in the sense that the Raptors at their best barely managed to beat the Warriors at their weakest. I think its safe to say that had Kevin Durant had been able to play the full series rather than ~17 minutes in Game 5 before being injured again things would have played out differently. Also, Game 6 probably would have gone the other way if Klay Thompson hadn't gone down.

On the other hand, injuries are a part of sports - you could have the best players in the world but it doesn't matter if they can't play. Teams need to be fully prepared for that. Unfortunately for the Warriors Kevin Durant was out for most of the playoffs, and the decision to send him in when not fully recovered was a very risky move which ultimately backfired. At the end of the day the Raptors kept their team together and healthier, which gave them enough depth to outclass the Warriors as a whole.

My favourite moment this year (apart from the Raptors winning of course) would have to be the Kawhi's ridiculous buzzer beater victory against the 76ers; It was at that moment when I started believing that luck may finally be on the Raptors side and they might just win it this year. Overall a highly entertaining year and an amazing run for the Raptors!

[Gandalf]

Exactly. If your team drops because one guy is injured, then they aren't so much a team as they are just one guy with backup. Granted, they had more than one injury, but that's on management to have roster depth and load management.

[Jub]

I don't know how much difference the medical/training staff made, if it was a playstyle thing, or just dumb luck but whatever got the Raps to the end I'm glad it worked out.

[Richcoop]

Honestly, I knew they would win the championship. On NBA Predictions, I knew right away that they would win because the betting calculator worked it out.