For the first time in franchise history, the Toronto Raptors are NBA champions. On Thursday, June 13, the Raptors were able to knock off the two-time defending NBA champion Golden State Warriors to claim the NBA title. Toronto earned the championship on the road in what was the last-ever game at Oracle Arena.
Following the conclusion of the series, Kawhi Leonard was named NBA Finals MVP, becoming the first player in league history to win Finals MVP in both conferences — he had previously won with the San Antonio Spurs.
For Leonard, who had an unceremonious exit from San Antonio, the performance was a way to back up his belief in himself and to silence the critics.
“A lot of people thought I was faking the injury or didn’t want to play for my team, and that was disappointing to me,” he said at the post-game press conference. “So just going through that, I knew I just had to trust myself. It doesn’t matter what anyone had to say about me.”
Toronto’s historic win also brought Canada its first-ever NBA championship.
A look at the best memes, tweets, and reactions can be seen below.
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2019 NBA Finals
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Golden State vs. Toronto
Game 1: Toronto 118, Golden State 109
Game 2: Golden State 109, Toronto 104
Game 3: Toronto 123, Golden State 109
Game 4: Toronto 105, Golden State 92
Game 5: Golden State 106, Toronto 105
Game 6: Toronto 114, Golden State 110 – to clinch the NBA Championship
*Game 7: Sun, June 16, Golden State at Toronto | 8 ET (ABC)
* – If Necessary
