The Toronto Raptors have only been an NBA franchise since 1995, but over that time, they have accrued quite a few rivals.
No, there are no Lakers-Celtics or Knicks-Heat types of rivalries here, but the Raptors do have some teams that they have clashed with quite a bit.
By now, we also know that Toronto fans are pretty feisty, so they seem to take their rivalries more seriously than even the Raptors players themselves do.
Without further ado, here are the Raptors' top five rivals, along with an honorable mention.
Honorable mention: Washington Wizards
The Raptors and Wizards first met in the playoffs back in 2015, when Washington ultimately swept Toronto in a first-round series that many expected to be competitive.
That was enough to begin boiling some hatred for the Wizards in Tdot.
The two sides would not meet in the postseason again until 2018, and this time around, the Raptors got their revenge, ousting the Wizards in six games in a heated first-round series.
Things have cooled down quite a bit since then. John Wall has barely even been on the floor over the last couple of years, and Washington has stunk as a result.
But there is no doubt that there was some genuine dislike between the Wizards and Raptors between 2013 and 2018.
You have to go way back for this one, but a legitimate argument can be made that the Knicks were the Raptors' first true rival.
The two clubs first collided in the playoffs in 2000, when New York was fresh off of a trip to the NBA Finals and Toronto was making its first postseason appearance in franchise history.
It didn't exactly end well for the Raptors, as the Knicks completed a three-game sweep of Vince Carter and Co. thanks much in part to a terrific series from Latrell Sprewell, who badly outplayed Carter on both ends. Tracy McGrady was in Toronto at this time, marking his final season with the Raptors before moving to the Orlando Magic.
The following year, New York and Toronto met in the playoffs again. But this time, it was the Raptors who emerged victorious, holding off the Knicks in a five-game first-round set (remember: first-round series were a best-of-five at this time).
That actually marked the end of an era in New York, as the Knicks have been one of the NBA's biggest laughingstocks ever since. It also represented the beginning of a new dawn in Toronto.
4. New Jersey/Brooklyn Nets
Not only did the Nets acquire Vince Carter from the Raptors back during the 2004-05 campaign, but Carter and the Nets then proceeded to beat Toronto in the playoffs in the spring of 2007.
That was back when the Nets were still in New Jersey.
It took a little while for the rivalry to truly resume, but it did in 2014, when the Nets (who were in Brooklyn at this point) and Raptors met in the first round of the playoffs.
Brooklyn was led by Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett (whom Raptors fans already hated from their days with the Celtics) and rallied from a 3-2 deficit in the series to beat Toronto in seven games.
Since then, the rivalry has cooled down considerably, as the Nets have mostly been awful since 2015. But with Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant now in Brooklyn and the Raptors not going anywhere anytime soon, we may see things pick back up between the two sides again.
The Raptors have taken on the 76ers in the playoffs twice.
The first meeting came back in 2001, right after Toronto beat New York. The series almost ended up being a mirror of last year's second-round series (more on that in a second), but instead of Kawhi Leonard hitting the series-winning shot in Game 7, Carter missed it.
That miss has haunted Carter ever since, and it also served as one of the most heartbreaking moments in Raptors history. It also unfortunately spoiled what was an incredible series for Air Canada, as he averaged 30.4 points per game in a classic duel against Allen Iverson.
The second class came last spring, which I just mentioned above. The series went the distance, ending on an incredible shot by Leonard to send the Raptors to the Eastern Conference Finals.
Of course, these two clubs are also Atlantic Division foes that play four times a year during the regular season. To this day, the wily Marc Gasol still has Joel Embiid's number.
The Raptors and Celtics have never met in the playoffs. Yet, Boston is No. 2 on this list, and I don't think there is a single fan in Toronto who would disagree.
For the most part, it has been the C's and Raptors vying for Atlantic Division supremacy for the last five years or so. Heck, Toronto fans' hatred for Boston dates all the way back to the days of Pierce, who is easily one of the most despised players in Tdot.
These two squads have also genuinely been two of the top teams in Eastern Conference year after year since 2016, so it's only natural that a bit of a rivalry has developed, especially considering they play in the same division.
Before this season was suspended, the Raptors were the No. 2 seed and the Celtics were third, so it was looking like they were on track to finally meet in the second round of the playoffs.
Perhaps we will still get to see it, but if not, we were robbed of a postseason clash that has been a long time coming.
This one is obvious.
LeBron James has tormented the Raptors for years, beating them in the playoffs as a member of the Cleveland Cavaliers three straight springs between 2016 and 2018.
The first time around, it was in a six-game Eastern Conference Finals matchup in which Toronto actually appeared to have a chance of winning. But that series apparently did something to the Raptors mentally.
The following year, the Cavaliers swept the Raptors in the second round. Then, in 2018, in a year that many considered Toronto to be the best team in the Eastern Conference, LeBron and Co. once again swept the Raptors in the second round.
Now, obviously, if Toronto would have had Kawhi in any of those series (particularly 2018), the outcome may have been different. I fully believe the 2019 Raptors would have won at least one of those times. But the duo of Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan simply could not get past James.
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