5 big takeaways in the wake of the 2019 NBA Finals

The 2019 NBA Finals are officially over, and the Toronto Raptors won their first ever championship over the Golden State Warriors. Here are 5 important takeaways from the series.

With a narrow 114-110 victory Thursday night, the Toronto Raptors finished off the 2019 NBA Finals in six games and earned their first championship in franchise history.

It was a stunning turn of events after entering a series in which the defending champion Golden State Warriors were the presumed favorites, even without home-court advantage and Kevin Durant‘s return from a calf injury likely to come midway through the series.

For the most part, the Raptors’ surprisingly competitive — and ultimately victorious — series against an NBA dynasty made for riveting television. Every game featured close finishes and terrific basketball to behold throughout. But from devastating injuries to questions looking ahead to the offseason and beyond, there’s a lot to digest from one of the craziest roller coaster series we’ve seen in some time.

Toronto fans should be rightfully elated by this underdog triumph, and with how their team performed on the grandest of stages, but now that the 2018-19 campaign is officially over, it’s already time to start looking ahead to the future.

Bearing that in mind, here are five important takeaways to consider in the aftermath of the 2019 NBA Finals.