Dynasties like all other good things do eventually come to an end. And tonight was no different. The Toronto Raptors dethroned the two time defending NBA champion Golden State Warriors. No longer one of the league’s most tortured franchises. The kings of the north now sit atop the basketball world.
Embed from Getty ImagesA Long Time Coming
The Raptors as an organization have been through a lot. They had many different looks personnel wise but could never quite make it work and win a championship. From the days of Vin-sanity to the Chris Bosh era and even more recently the Demar DeRozan/Kyle Lowry years. Toronto has had talent but something was always in there way. Year after year the Raptors were demoralized and eliminated by LeBron James. But in 2019 things changed. The King had left the East and they were granted a golden opportunity and didn’t waste it.
Embed from Getty ImagesPutting Together A Champion
Toronto underwent a major overhaul in the summer of 2018. They were able to trade for a disgruntled Kawhi Leonard and break up their unsuccessful core. Leonard was coming off a quad injury and a messy divorce with San Antonio. But the Raptors saw the potential in snarring the former finals MVP. During the season they added another key piece in veteran center Marc Gasol. Lowry became more of a distributor and had a career best 8.7 assist per game. That was good enough for third most in the entire NBA. Complete with talented role players like Serge Ibaka, Danny Green, and the young sharpshooter Fred VanVleet they were ready to make a run at the teams first title.
Embed from Getty ImagesEnding A Dynasty
If it wasn’t clear from the onset it was crystal by the end of Game 1 of the NBA Finals. The Raptors were clearly a better team than the undermanned Warriors. Golden State was without Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson for key stretches in this series. Durant returned from a month long calf injury only to rupture his Achilles tendon in Game 5. Thompson missed Game 3 with a hamstring before he was sidelined permanently in Game 6 with a knee injury. Toronto took full advantage of these injuries and combined with suffocating defense was able to vanquish the defending champs in six games. Leonard was deservingly named Finals MVP. Even more impressive, Golden State never won a game at Oracle Arena. All the Warriors’ luck had run out and it was The North that became the center of the basketball world.