After 24 years of existence as a franchise, the Toronto Raptors finally experienced basketball immortality by winning the 2019 NBA championship. The road to their first title in franchise history certainly wasn't an easy one. In fact, they experienced countless heartbreaks before finally reaching the pinnacle last season.
Chronologically, here are some of the most heartbreaking moments in Toronto Raptors history:
Vince Carter's Last Second Miss
Led by superstar Vince Carter, the 2000-01 Raptors had their best season as a franchise at the time. Toronto made the second round for the first time, where they faced the no. 1 seeded Philadelphia 76ers, led by league MVP Allen Iverson.
The first six games of the series saw Iverson and Carter going back-and-forth, exchanging 50-point games. The series came down to a deciding Game 7 in Philadelphia. In fact, it came down to a deciding possession. Toronto had the ball, with a chance to reach the conference finals, with Philadelphia up 1 with two seconds remaining.
As expected, the ball found its way to their best player's hands. Carter managed to get his defender off his feat and get a semi-clean look at the corner. The shot went up and hit the back of the rim. Series over. Sixers advance and the Raptors, off a heartbreaking miss, were sent home packing.
After the game, Carter drew criticism for attending his graduation right before Game 7. This eventually turned out to be the highest point the Raptors got to in the Vince Carter era. Half-Man Half-Amazing's tenure with the franchise came spiraling down in 2004-05 and subsequently ended with a trade to the New Jersey Nets mid-season.
Game 1 Loss in 2018
The Raptors, with All-Stars DeMar Derozan and Kyle Lowry leading the team, emerged as one of the best teams in the East in the mid-2010s. However, one particular obstacle they just couldn't get over is LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers.
In the 2017-18 season, Toronto secured the top seed in the Eastern Conference, granting them home court advantage through their side of the bracket. The Cavaliers, meanwhile, struggled through the regular season and finished with as the four-seed. The two teams eventually faced off in the second round.
Raptors fans were confident about facing James and company and many believed this would be the time when they finally get over the hump. Toronto led for nearly the entirety of Game 1, with its biggest lead at 13 on multiple occasions. However, LeBron and the Cavs inevitably came back and turned it into a close contest down the stretch. The Raps had multiple chances to win it in the final seconds in the fourth, but failed to score on five attempts, including four at the rim, to win the game. Overtime.
The Cavaliers seized control in the extra period, but the Raptors still had a chance to win on their final possession, down by 1 with 12 seconds to go. Unfortunately, they failed to score as Fred VanVleet missed the go-ahead three-pointer. Buzzer sounded. Game over. The homecourt advantage that the Raptors worked so hard for through 82 games, the Cavaliers just snatched it from their hands in mere 48 minutes.
This may have been just a Game 1 loss, but the atmosphere in the building definitely felt like they already lost the series.
LeBron James' Game 3 Dagger in 2018
After a devastating Game 1 loss, the Raptors came out flat in Game 2 and lost by 18 points at home. With the series shifting to Cleveland, the Raptors were on the verge of getting swept by their tormentors for the second year in a row.
Nobody gave the Raptors a chance to win the series, and many analysts already predicted a sweep to come. And as expected, Cleveland had Toronto on the ropes and entered the fourth quarter of Game 3 with a 14 point lead. Surprisingly, however, the Raptors managed to fight back and tied the game with an gutsy triple from rookie O.G. Anunoby with 8 seconds remaining.
Unfortunately, those 8 seconds set the stage for another LeBron James maestro finish. With the Cavaliers opting to go the length of the court, James had a full head of steam to race down the floor. LeBron got past the defense, and threw up a picture perfect floater off-glass to win the game and establish a commanding 3-0 series lead.
Another heartbreaking moment at the hands of The King. With their spirits in the gutter, the Raptors eventually got swept for the second year in a row by Cleveland. Nonetheless, this devastating ending to a promising season set up an off-season of change and a 2018-19 campaign that became the greatest in franchise history.
Kawhi Leonard Goes Home
None of Toronto's success last season would have been possible if team president Masai Ujiri did not trade for Kawhi Leonard in the previous summer. Trading for Leonard was a huge risk given that the former San Antonio Spurs star missed all but 9 games of the 2017-18 season. Add the fact that he would become a free agent in the summer of 2019. Nonetheless, Ujiri pulled the move, trading beloved franchise star DeMar Derozan.
For the entire 2018-19 campaign, the Raptors did everything they can to convince Leonard to stay, such as placing him in the load management program to help him with his injuries. Leonard, on the one hand, did his part and played basketball.
As we saw, Leonard had a dominant postseason and led Toronto to their first title in franchise history. It seemed like winning the title became what the Raptors needed to fully get Leonard's commitment to stay for at least another season.
However, when free agency came, Toronto's reigning Finals MVP ultimately chose to go home to Los Angeles and signed with the Clippers. Raptors fans were definitely devastated with the news. However, they are forever grateful to Leonard for that one season of glory that they will never forget.
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