After a 6 game battle with the defending champion Warriors, the Toronto Raptors managed to come out on top led by a stellar performance by Kawhi Leonard.

The Raptors entered the playoffs as the number 2 seed in the East. In spite of their high seeding, many counted them out and didn’t consider them to be serious threats to the Milwaukee Bucks or the Golden State Warriors. They cruised past the 7-seeded Orlando Magic in 5 games and then got their first real test in round 2. In the Eastern Conference Semifinals, they faced off against the young and up and coming Philadelphia 76ers. After a 7-game battle, the Raptors came out on top in a thrilling game 7 that ended with Leonard hitting an improbable buzzer beater over Joel Embiid that bounced off the rim 4 times before going in. Then came their match-up with the one-seeded Bucks. After struggling and going down 2-0, Toronto went on to win 4 straight games and move on to the finals against the stacked Golden State Warriors.

Golden State had been the best team in the league for years prior to the championship and were heavily favored to win their 4th championship in 5 years. They were coming off of a sweep in the Western Conference Finals over the 3-seeded Portland Trail Blazers and were on a roll heading into their series with the Raptors. Unfortunately, star player, Kevin Durant went down with an achilles injury, allowing Toronto to strike first in the series. The Warriors responded by tying the series, but then dropped the next two games, falling back 3-1. Durant made his return in game 5 but went down late in the game. Although he went down late, his contributions were enough for the Warriors to eek out a win and stay alive in the series. Durant sat game 6 with his injury and on top of his absence, Klay Thompson tore his ACL late in the third quarter after catching fire and putting up 30 points in 32 minutes. The Raptors eventually came out on top in game 6 and in the series to capture their first championship in franchise history. Leonard won Finals MVP, averaging 28.5 points and 9.8 rebounds.