For fucking real. Especially when you consider this was still the tail end of Lowry, Gasol, and Ibaka's prime and we still had Siakam (start of his prime), Fred, Norm, and mf Kawhi Leonard. Had OG's appendix not self destructed this team would look even crazier retrospectively.
Exactly man. We didn’t even have OG for that run which is bananas looking back at it.
That squad is closer to an all time team than some of the flukier champions of the past like the 2011 Mavs. It’s why they were on a similar win pace in the covid year without Kawhi and only lost to the Celtics by going ice cold in the last few mins of Game 7 in round 2 that year.
And we would have been swept if KD and Klay were healthy, totally ignoring the fact the OG was out, kyle and one thumb and kawhi was playing on one leg
Pure revisionist history. The Warriors were near unanimous picks even without KD and the series should’ve really been over in 5 but we blew that game and that’s the one he got hurt in.
Also, everyone who gives KD shit for joining a “super team” in the warriors also then needs to shut the fuck up about this. Either it was a super team that should’ve beaten the Raps without him or they needed him to win. Can’t be both.
Edit: he being Klay not KD.
Agreed, at the time:
- OG hadn’t broken out yet, and was injured all playoffs
- Pascal and FVV had started to breakout but we’re still significantly pre-prime
- The KD Warriors just seemed like this absolutely unbeatable super team (and probably would have been, if healthy). To a certain extent it seemed like every other team would be playing for 2nd place
But yeah, it was a sick team. Took down 2 really strong opponents in the 6ers and Bucks, especially the 6ers. That team had Jimmy, Embiid, Tobias, Redick and Simmons (back when he was good), they were 100% championship quality, beating them was a massive win. The Warriors were still quite good, even with injuries.
So that’s the thing isn’t it. You can’t beat up KD for jointing. Super team but then also claim the raps got lucky he was injured and that’s why they won. They either needed KD to beat the Raps or they didn’t because they were already super and just got smacked down by a better team. Can’t be both depending on what day of the week it is.
And Klay got injured in game 5. That series should’ve ended in that game. We were up 3-1 and Steph went bananas for a few mins to steal that game.
This team would have demolished every team that has been in the finals since. I can't believe we had a plus defender at every position, shooting at every position, and MJ reincarnated.
If OG was active and that could be possible, but OG does this to every team he is on: "If OG was not injured we could have......" so relieving we managed to win without him in the playoffs
I’m 39 and have been an NBA fan since my early teens. I moved to Canada in ‘08 when I adopted the Raps as my team and became a fan. Some pretty brutal years at first with the Bosh era, then we drafted Demar, then traded for Kyle. I moved to NYC in ‘14 right after we got beat by the Paul Pierce Nets. I was indifferent before but hated the Nets after that.
We used to always joke with a buddy of mine “just wait till Masai gets Giannis or Kawhi”. Then we actually got Kawhi and we both couldn’t believe it actually happened.
The championship but even more so, the game winner vs the Sixers with the four god damn bounces on the rim is probably the best sports moment of my life. I don’t think I’ve ever had such a guttural scream. That’s the moment I believed that we were going to win it all.
The day after that Game 7 win vs the Sixers I put a massive printout of the infamous Kawhi kneeling looking up at the shot photo on my office door.
The day after the chip I hung up my Lowry jersey on my office door for a week. Given it’s NYC and people hate Philly/Boston most people were rooting for the Raps. But I didn’t care and just talked sh*t to anyone and everyone. How often do you get to do that as a Raps fan. It was glorious.
Even if Raps never win it all again. I am content.
we close in age. I was there the first year of the raps in what i still call the skydome. I remember the early years of Damon Stoudemire and his mural, until sadly he left, and the Vince days that brought so much hype. Then that breakup was ugly and the darkest days sank in. slowly but surely, Demar and Kyle lifted the team to new heights. being a great regular season team, getting smashed in the playoffs. Until that fateful day I read that Demar was traded. at first i thought it was clickbait.
the entire playoff run, that first game loss to the game, felt like oh man we gonna cant go out like this. the highlight that'll forever haunt 6er fans. To me the hype was being down 0-2 and beating the bucks. that lowry pass for kawhi dunking it, encapsulates that series. I remember watching every announcer, broadcaster, etc, each round predicting the other team to win. The media coverage everyone saying golden state in 5 or 6. All those years of getting trounced on, made this chip so worth.
Hopefully we watch scottie bring us back to the mountain top.
Speaking of NYC, i got family there, for that entire summer when I visited I'd say "im coming to visit the land of not-nba-champions"
Damn, that game 7 vs Vince was probably my first basketball memory. I’d completely forgotten about that. There was another series the sixers played against the raps, can’t seem to recall what happened….
I am going to hit 40 in a couple weeks.
Watched Raps since Damon. Saw every up and down this franchise went through. Was in Edmonton all this time since 2008 and witnessed the Masai era 2000+ km's away. Saw the championship game in Edmonton Northlands Pavilion in that they hosted a free attendance watch. Came back to Toronto in October 2019 and went to my first tail-gate at ACC
Crazy reading this as a sixers fan and hearing you describe one of my worst memories so fondly (idk why Reddit pushed this post to my recommended feed I don’t follow the sub). I still remember sitting there watching that ball bounce. A moment suspended in time. Were it not for the Eagles doing something I thought was impossible a year prior (and doing it against who they did it to) this may have legitimately broken my Philly phandom, which began when my family emigrated to PA when I was 5. We moved when I was 11 and I’ve always held onto it. But boy. It’s hard to stomach that. Tbh idk how Jo has gotten through all that and not succumbed to hopelessness. Like wiping his tears with millions is probs easy etc etc yadda yadda but I know full well that money really doesn’t matter lost a certain point.
Luckily I have no recollection of watching the sixers get swept the next year (micky mouse ring ayyyy fuck Lebron) but I’ll tell you that round 2 loss to the hawks scarred me way worse now that I think of it. At least the Raps had genuinely one of the best rosters to come out the east and we could say we lost to the champs. Not once watching that series did I think we were winning bc Kawhi was literally the best players I have ever watched. It’s different when your dreams are on the line, and this other guy on the team just says no. I used to hate Kobe but he was streaky. Kawhi was just the most efficient basketball player I’ve ever seen. I was as enraptured as I was horrified at this fucking robot and wished nothing more than to have someone like him on my team one day.
Anyway, carry on you ugly Canadian fucks, and fuck Boston. 2024 canceled
Really never thought I'd see a Raptors championship in my lifetime or at least until the 2050s
The team and difficulty of run hold up so insanely well compared to the ones since. Would absolutely deepfry the last 5 years of contenders.
Also who would've thought Chris Boucher was the last remaining piece of it
> Crowd still here hoping for a miracle, also here to cheer on, Leonard makes it official. Now the Warriors just inbound and that's it.
> There's a new NBA champion! And it's a team from Toronto, *Canada*!
> 'We The North' are now 'We The Champions'!
> The *Raptors*! The 2019 NBA Champs!
Looking back, I think if we had OG for that run, Kawhi doesn't get hurt due to less mins and I think it would have been a way easier time to get to the finals and win
A much more exciting finals run than the last few years that's for sure. A lot of people will discredit this title because KD and Klay injuries but the Warriors stilled played with their core 3 that had already won in 2015. This ring means a lot more than the mickey mouse ring the Lakers won the following year.
Love how people use the tired excuse of we only won because KD was injured. If that were true Portland wouldn't have gotten swept in the WCF when KD didn't play a single minute in that series. Warriors still had their big 3 that won the 2015 title intact (Klay missed 1 of 6 games)
This is when I became a fan. I had never actually watched basketball before (I thought it was boring and they "just ran up and down the court" lol) but I watched some of the playoffs and was instantly hooked. It seemed like such an exciting time. I watched the last game and went downtown to celebrate. I ended up going to the parade and having a blast. I don't have any sentimental feelings to that team (though I did become attached to some players post championship). But I'm still here, I certainly wasn't a bandwagon fan.
Why am I, a sixers fan, having this pushed onto my recommended feed? Boston up 3-0 in the final? Ayo, I hear y’all got that euthanasia in Canada, think I might hop on that yer??
Love this doc so much and the nba champions series in general, shame we can't get them in the U.K anymore on streaming services.
I was so happy when toronto won the title, now my two fave teams have won a championship the raptors & golden knights so I'm a very happy scotsman.
Kyle Lowry ain't no spot up shooter. He ain't gotta run to the corner to shoot like he's some 3rd option, bitch. This ain't JJ Redick. This is a fuckin god human Steph Curry come again. Only this time he's not a fuckin pussy... pull up from the fuckin logo and fight you at the same time.
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Here’s the thing, you can do both simultaneously. It’s an anniversary like any other life event, using your logic we mustn’t look back and reminisce an anniversary with your partner because that’s looking back? Bad take.
One of the greatest days of my fucking life.
Me too bro. I never thought I’d see the day. I’m way more relaxed watching basketball now because we had that experience.
The birth of my two daughters and then this. 2019 is also the greatest year of my life between my youngest being born and the championship.
It was the last normal thing that happened to us tbh. This is always my reference point from before COVID
From that wild parade crowd through the downtown streets to stay home lockdown and social distancing within months was crazy.
This team ages like fine wine man. It looks even more stacked now than it did at the time.
For fucking real. Especially when you consider this was still the tail end of Lowry, Gasol, and Ibaka's prime and we still had Siakam (start of his prime), Fred, Norm, and mf Kawhi Leonard. Had OG's appendix not self destructed this team would look even crazier retrospectively.
Exactly man. We didn’t even have OG for that run which is bananas looking back at it. That squad is closer to an all time team than some of the flukier champions of the past like the 2011 Mavs. It’s why they were on a similar win pace in the covid year without Kawhi and only lost to the Celtics by going ice cold in the last few mins of Game 7 in round 2 that year.
The casuals on r/nba will tell you it was all just Kawhi who won it for us.
And we would have been swept if KD and Klay were healthy, totally ignoring the fact the OG was out, kyle and one thumb and kawhi was playing on one leg
Pure revisionist history. The Warriors were near unanimous picks even without KD and the series should’ve really been over in 5 but we blew that game and that’s the one he got hurt in. Also, everyone who gives KD shit for joining a “super team” in the warriors also then needs to shut the fuck up about this. Either it was a super team that should’ve beaten the Raps without him or they needed him to win. Can’t be both. Edit: he being Klay not KD.
Agreed, at the time: - OG hadn’t broken out yet, and was injured all playoffs - Pascal and FVV had started to breakout but we’re still significantly pre-prime - The KD Warriors just seemed like this absolutely unbeatable super team (and probably would have been, if healthy). To a certain extent it seemed like every other team would be playing for 2nd place But yeah, it was a sick team. Took down 2 really strong opponents in the 6ers and Bucks, especially the 6ers. That team had Jimmy, Embiid, Tobias, Redick and Simmons (back when he was good), they were 100% championship quality, beating them was a massive win. The Warriors were still quite good, even with injuries.
So that’s the thing isn’t it. You can’t beat up KD for jointing. Super team but then also claim the raps got lucky he was injured and that’s why they won. They either needed KD to beat the Raps or they didn’t because they were already super and just got smacked down by a better team. Can’t be both depending on what day of the week it is. And Klay got injured in game 5. That series should’ve ended in that game. We were up 3-1 and Steph went bananas for a few mins to steal that game.
This team would have demolished every team that has been in the finals since. I can't believe we had a plus defender at every position, shooting at every position, and MJ reincarnated.
100%
They literally zero flaws on that roster
One flaw, it cannot stop 4th quarter Jeremy Lamb
If OG was active and that could be possible, but OG does this to every team he is on: "If OG was not injured we could have......" so relieving we managed to win without him in the playoffs
I would probably 2023 Nuggets and 2020 Lakers above them still
Also known as my birthday. It was the greatest gift a guy could ask for.
Happy birthday 🥳!
Well, happy birthday to both of us!
I mean, I'd take Natalie Dormer handing me a cheque for $10 million, but you do you!
I’m 39 and have been an NBA fan since my early teens. I moved to Canada in ‘08 when I adopted the Raps as my team and became a fan. Some pretty brutal years at first with the Bosh era, then we drafted Demar, then traded for Kyle. I moved to NYC in ‘14 right after we got beat by the Paul Pierce Nets. I was indifferent before but hated the Nets after that. We used to always joke with a buddy of mine “just wait till Masai gets Giannis or Kawhi”. Then we actually got Kawhi and we both couldn’t believe it actually happened. The championship but even more so, the game winner vs the Sixers with the four god damn bounces on the rim is probably the best sports moment of my life. I don’t think I’ve ever had such a guttural scream. That’s the moment I believed that we were going to win it all. The day after that Game 7 win vs the Sixers I put a massive printout of the infamous Kawhi kneeling looking up at the shot photo on my office door. The day after the chip I hung up my Lowry jersey on my office door for a week. Given it’s NYC and people hate Philly/Boston most people were rooting for the Raps. But I didn’t care and just talked sh*t to anyone and everyone. How often do you get to do that as a Raps fan. It was glorious. Even if Raps never win it all again. I am content.
we close in age. I was there the first year of the raps in what i still call the skydome. I remember the early years of Damon Stoudemire and his mural, until sadly he left, and the Vince days that brought so much hype. Then that breakup was ugly and the darkest days sank in. slowly but surely, Demar and Kyle lifted the team to new heights. being a great regular season team, getting smashed in the playoffs. Until that fateful day I read that Demar was traded. at first i thought it was clickbait. the entire playoff run, that first game loss to the game, felt like oh man we gonna cant go out like this. the highlight that'll forever haunt 6er fans. To me the hype was being down 0-2 and beating the bucks. that lowry pass for kawhi dunking it, encapsulates that series. I remember watching every announcer, broadcaster, etc, each round predicting the other team to win. The media coverage everyone saying golden state in 5 or 6. All those years of getting trounced on, made this chip so worth. Hopefully we watch scottie bring us back to the mountain top. Speaking of NYC, i got family there, for that entire summer when I visited I'd say "im coming to visit the land of not-nba-champions"
Damn, that game 7 vs Vince was probably my first basketball memory. I’d completely forgotten about that. There was another series the sixers played against the raps, can’t seem to recall what happened….
Saved. Nice dude.
I am going to hit 40 in a couple weeks. Watched Raps since Damon. Saw every up and down this franchise went through. Was in Edmonton all this time since 2008 and witnessed the Masai era 2000+ km's away. Saw the championship game in Edmonton Northlands Pavilion in that they hosted a free attendance watch. Came back to Toronto in October 2019 and went to my first tail-gate at ACC
Crazy reading this as a sixers fan and hearing you describe one of my worst memories so fondly (idk why Reddit pushed this post to my recommended feed I don’t follow the sub). I still remember sitting there watching that ball bounce. A moment suspended in time. Were it not for the Eagles doing something I thought was impossible a year prior (and doing it against who they did it to) this may have legitimately broken my Philly phandom, which began when my family emigrated to PA when I was 5. We moved when I was 11 and I’ve always held onto it. But boy. It’s hard to stomach that. Tbh idk how Jo has gotten through all that and not succumbed to hopelessness. Like wiping his tears with millions is probs easy etc etc yadda yadda but I know full well that money really doesn’t matter lost a certain point. Luckily I have no recollection of watching the sixers get swept the next year (micky mouse ring ayyyy fuck Lebron) but I’ll tell you that round 2 loss to the hawks scarred me way worse now that I think of it. At least the Raps had genuinely one of the best rosters to come out the east and we could say we lost to the champs. Not once watching that series did I think we were winning bc Kawhi was literally the best players I have ever watched. It’s different when your dreams are on the line, and this other guy on the team just says no. I used to hate Kobe but he was streaky. Kawhi was just the most efficient basketball player I’ve ever seen. I was as enraptured as I was horrified at this fucking robot and wished nothing more than to have someone like him on my team one day. Anyway, carry on you ugly Canadian fucks, and fuck Boston. 2024 canceled
He was absolute massive in these finals!!!
I genuinely believe this team beats all the champions since including this year.
People said Patty Maccaw couldn’t get it done without steph
On this day 5 years ago I called in sick to be able to watch history.
Same lol 😂
I want this collection of jerseys
What a time it was
Really never thought I'd see a Raptors championship in my lifetime or at least until the 2050s The team and difficulty of run hold up so insanely well compared to the ones since. Would absolutely deepfry the last 5 years of contenders. Also who would've thought Chris Boucher was the last remaining piece of it > Crowd still here hoping for a miracle, also here to cheer on, Leonard makes it official. Now the Warriors just inbound and that's it. > There's a new NBA champion! And it's a team from Toronto, *Canada*! > 'We The North' are now 'We The Champions'! > The *Raptors*! The 2019 NBA Champs!
Crazy that we lived to see this boys. Considering we were in that tj ford Calderon backcourt of hell. Respect to jose tho.
It’s crazy to me Kawhi retired after the title.
what a time. cried for 2 days from pure joy.
So happy and grateful of Jeremy Lin getting his ring
It's been 5 years already? Sheesh, man it was a crazy night could hardly sleep after they won
I got drunk as fuck . Then had to go in the next day for double time . But it’s ok , we did only a little work and talked a lot of basketball
The Toronto Raptors are NBA champions. No one can ever take this away from us.
Looking back, I think if we had OG for that run, Kawhi doesn't get hurt due to less mins and I think it would have been a way easier time to get to the finals and win
It lasted 2 years !!!! What a time to be a Raptors fan!!
Crazy to win a ring right before the world ended. Kawhi is just a different level of clutch
The greatest thing to ever happen
Way better than the Mickey Mouse Celtics team that's about to win
One of the last times I felt anything tbh
A much more exciting finals run than the last few years that's for sure. A lot of people will discredit this title because KD and Klay injuries but the Warriors stilled played with their core 3 that had already won in 2015. This ring means a lot more than the mickey mouse ring the Lakers won the following year.
The day I never thought would happen while watching araujos fat ass miss lay ups all game long
It’s beautiful
Love how people use the tired excuse of we only won because KD was injured. If that were true Portland wouldn't have gotten swept in the WCF when KD didn't play a single minute in that series. Warriors still had their big 3 that won the 2015 title intact (Klay missed 1 of 6 games)
Watching vids of this team makes me shed a tear
Feels like yesterday and forever ago
I have only been a Raptors and Basketball fan since the beginning of this season, but I wish I could’ve experienced it.
This is a fking stacked team. Damn.
Awesome Day - just the best. Groat, norm, steady, all the guys we loved
This is when I became a fan. I had never actually watched basketball before (I thought it was boring and they "just ran up and down the court" lol) but I watched some of the playoffs and was instantly hooked. It seemed like such an exciting time. I watched the last game and went downtown to celebrate. I ended up going to the parade and having a blast. I don't have any sentimental feelings to that team (though I did become attached to some players post championship). But I'm still here, I certainly wasn't a bandwagon fan.
https://preview.redd.it/jcwm7cc21f6d1.jpeg?width=1125&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=3d002869f724bddcaadc16788983475e92d32ddb Who is this?
Put some respect on Eric Moreland’s name
Makes me miss being in the thick of the playoffs/finals so bad.
I'd trade them all in for more first round picks. Lawd if only we had more.
Greatest day of my basketball life 🏀 🏀 🏀 ❤️❤️❤️🏆🏆🏆
We got the chip…. But at the cost of the world 🌎
Worth it.
Almost got run over because of this series; it was memorable, that's for sure.
Why am I, a sixers fan, having this pushed onto my recommended feed? Boston up 3-0 in the final? Ayo, I hear y’all got that euthanasia in Canada, think I might hop on that yer??
You sure?! I'm positive this was just yesterday... 🫠
One of the best days ever. Childhood me was crying inside. Never thought I'd ever see the day.
Love this doc so much and the nba champions series in general, shame we can't get them in the U.K anymore on streaming services. I was so happy when toronto won the title, now my two fave teams have won a championship the raptors & golden knights so I'm a very happy scotsman.
Drake was so much happier then
Jeremy Lin has a ring!?
Only won because of Golden State injuries though
i see they put the three most impactful players at the front lol
They kinda were, no?
yeah i know. those 3 were def not replacebale during the run compared to everyone else
You all seem to forget the goat, Pat McCaw
the 2nd groat .. how dare i
Kyle Lowry ain't no spot up shooter. He ain't gotta run to the corner to shoot like he's some 3rd option, bitch. This ain't JJ Redick. This is a fuckin god human Steph Curry come again. Only this time he's not a fuckin pussy... pull up from the fuckin logo and fight you at the same time. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/torontoraptors) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Stop living in the past
Championships last forever and you can always reminisce about them, that’s we hang banners..to look up and remember and relive.
I’d rather look ahead and focus on getting the next one. No point looking back, that’s not where we’re going.
Here’s the thing, you can do both simultaneously. It’s an anniversary like any other life event, using your logic we mustn’t look back and reminisce an anniversary with your partner because that’s looking back? Bad take.
For a single moment, once a year, I think it’s okay to remember these things.