The Toronto Raptors have advanced to the NBA Finals for the first time in franchise history and will be facing the Golden State Warriors for the best-of-seven championship series. But while a huge part of their success is because of All-Star forward Kawhi Leonard, there's one other player who's been impressively consistent throughout the course of the season; and that's Pascal Siakam.

Siakam, a third-year veteran, is having a career year with the Raptors. He's averaging 16.9 points and 6.9 rebounds this season while shooting 54 percent from the field, including 36 percent from beyond the arc. He's the favorite to win the Most Improved Player of the Year award because of how good he's been for the Raptors.

General manager Masai Ujiri is proud of Siakam's emergence as arguably the second-best player on the team. The Raptors executive admitted that he never thought that the 25 year-old forward had so much potential the first time he saw him, but at the end of the day, Ujiri is glad that Siakam is part of the Raptors' historic run.

Siakam's rebounding and rim protection will play a key role for the Raptors in the Finals. He's expected to go against another versatile forward, Warriors' Draymond Green. If Pascal will be able to limit Dray's production on both ends of the floor, Toronto will have a better chance at winning Game 1.

There's no denying the fact that Siakam has come a long way this season, and there's a big possibility that he could end his journey this season by leading the Raptors to the NBA championship.