Toronto Raptors: 3 takeaways from Game 6 win in 2019 NBA Finals

1. We the champions

The Toronto Raptors’ mantra dating back to the 2014 playoffs has been “We the North.” Trending after the championship win on NBA Twitter was “We the Champions.”

The franchise’s first NBA championship was no easy feat. Their road to winning it all was difficult, full of adversity. Before the playoffs even started, one of their best players in OG Anunoby had an emergency appendectomy and later an infection in the area, which held him out of the whole postseason.

To follow, the team lost its first game of the postseason to the Orlando Magic on D.J. Augustin‘s buzzer-beater at home. Following that loss, the Raptors started to focus on defense and won the next four games in the series.

Next up was the challenging Philadelphia 76ers and their star-studded roster. The series ended in a fashionable way after what is known as “The Bounce” — Leonard’s Game 7 buzzer-beating shot that bounced on the rim four times — went in. Any seven-game series would take a toll on the players both mentally and physically. Yet, this Raptors squad would persevere.

In the Eastern Conference Finals, they went up against the team with the best record in the NBA — who had a much easier path there, by all accounts — without home-court advantage for the first time since the 2016 Eastern Conference Finals. After losing the first two games on the road, the Raptors won the next four games, ending the series and reaching the franchise’s first NBA Finals.

The Raptors had an 8-2 record over their last 10 games against the two best opponents the NBA had to offer, the Warriors and the Milwaukee Bucks. Let’s not forget, Leonard was hobbled at times during those last 10 games, making the winning record all the more impressive.

The 2018-19 Toronto Raptors were deep, full of heart and grit and were one of the best defensive teams throughout the playoffs with a 104.1 defensive efficiency rating. Warriors injuries or not, they are more than deserving to be labeled as the 2019 NBA champions.