Raptors dethrone Warriors to capture first NBA crown
TORONTO — The Toronto Raptors completed a remarkable evolution from a laughingstock to NBA champions on Thursday with a victory that could very well shift the identity of a country long associated with ice hockey.
When they broke into the league in 1995, the Raptors were known more for the gimmicky basketballplaying cartoon dinosaur on their jerseys than for anything they did on the court, which in the early years was plenty of losing.
The team had only made the playoffs five times in their first 18 years before going on a six-season run of contention that culminated in a 4-2 NBA Finals victory over the two-time defending champion Golden State Warriors.
The Raptors won the sixth game of the playoff 114-110 on Thursday night. “And that’s how we do it in the North,” Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau tweeted after the Raptors’ triumph.
Ice hockey has long been seen by people from both inside and outside Canada as the sport that most defines the country, and when the national team competes in their red and white jerseys the nation comes to a near standstill.
But given the changing demographics of a population that grows more diverse with each day, many are seeking a national identity through basketball, which is more of a global game than hockey, and therefore more familiar to many new Canadians.
Even the Raptors’ fan base in Toronto, which is one of the most culturally diverse cities in the world, reflects Canada’s multicultural spirit greater than any other professional team in the country.
“We’ve been growing and trying to prove to the world that there is a meaning to having an NBA team, one NBA team, outside the US,” said Raptors President of Basketball Operations Masai Ujiri.
What put Toronto over the top this season was the arrival of Kawhi Leonard last July in a trade that split the fan base given the team parted ways with a fan favourite for a player who was limited to nine games the previous season due to injury.
But Leonard, who was named the NBA Finals Most Valuable Player for the second time in his career, put the team on his back and carried them to heights few thought possible given the talentladen team that awaited them in the Finals.
“Basketball fans across the world know now what ‘We The North’ really means as out Canadian team finally raises the Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy!” Toronto Mayor John Tory said in a statement.
“And our fans have also proven themselves to be the best in the world!”