Why The Toronto Raptors Will Make The NBA Finals Before The Milwaukee Bucks.

In the 2018-19 season, the Toronto Raptors traded their franchise player Demar DeRozen in exchange for one year of Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green. At the time, NBA fans worldwide were shocked and hurt that the Raptors even considered a trade like this despite the organization promising him that he will remain with the team. However, the Boston Celtics in 2018 proved that loyalty is simply a word as they traded away a passionate Isiah Thomas in exchange for two years of a bipolar Kyrie Irving. Unlike Boston, this trade that the Raptors did ended up becoming one the best trades in NBA history as Kawhi Leonard led the Toronto Raptors to their first NBA championship while putting Canada on the map. Unfortunately, Kawhi Leonard would end up departing from Toronto to join the Los Angeles Clippers to be closer with family and friends leaving the Raptors without a superstar or so it seems. 

At the start of the 2019-20 season, many NBA executives and fans heavily discounted what the Raptors are still capable of. One of the aspects that were forgotten about the Toronto Raptors is, how well they recruit players and develop them. When dissecting the entire Raptors roster, none of their players have a lottery player and instead are either undrafted, late first-round picks or second-round picks. In 2016, Ben Simmons was the unanimous first pick in the NBA draft while Pascal Siakam was the 27th pick and had arguably become the best player in that draft as he has a championship under his belt. The same thing can be said for Kyle Lowry, who was picked 24th overall while being bounced from team to team. Toronto decided to take the chance on Lowry and traded for him in exchange for virtually nothing. In the present day, Lowry is a multiple time all-star, an All-NBA player and an NBA champion while also being the best player to come out of his class. The list goes on and on about the Raptors organization and roster as this team has heart and commitment to do whatever it takes to win a basketball game. 

The aspect that makes the Raptors so dangerous is not that they have two All-Stars in Pascal Siakam and Kyle Lowry but how they deal with adversity. Throughout this season, the Raptors entire roster that played meaningful minutes all suffered injury after injury, which left Nick Nurse incredibly stressed but optimistic. The Raptors coaching staff and development staff is arguably the best in the NBA, considering how well they managed to work around their issues. When Pascal Siakam went down with an injury, Chris Boucher would be the temporary replacement. Even though Boucher is no All-Star, he played significant minutes this season when the Raptors needed him and even locked down Giannis Antetokounmpo in the regular season, which is no easy task. Players like Kyle Lowry, Pascal Siakam, Fred VanVleet, Marc Gasol, Norman Powell, and Serge Ibaka are arguably the most crucial players on the team went down with injuries and missed a decent amount of time. Yet, the Raptors still managed to hold the second-best record in the NBA! Even though all these injuries will spread out throughout the season, missing a crucial starter or impactful sixth-man will hurt any team, yet Nick Nurse managed to pull it off. Pascal Siakam played terribly in the NBA bubble, but their depth and heart led them to a record of 7-1 without being at 100%. The point is, Toronto this season was never at 100% as they either suffered terrible injuries or players that are still struggling to find their strive on the court but that was quickly over as the Raptors defeated the Brooklyn Nets in game one while appearing to be more locked in and comfortable on the court. 

With this team suffering many adversities and still being the second-best team record-wise in the NBA is something that is quite underrated for the Raptors season. With Nick Nurse, not even receiving a nomination for coach of the year is one of the biggest slaps in the face in recent history. Nurse lost his star player at the beginning of this season, and yet he still managed to coach this team to 53 wins! There’s a reason why LeBron James and Dwight Howard believe that the Raptors will make the NBA finals, and that’s because the Raptors have passion, heart, and a mindset of never giving up. From the beginning of their history in the NBA, Toronto has been doubted and viewed as a joke, but they defied the odds in the 2010’s. With Pascal Siakam emerging as a star in the matter of seasons, the Raptors will be in contending conversations for many years to come. 

In the end, Toronto has proven many NBA fans and executives since the rise of Demar DeRozen. With the Raptors winning a championship last season, they enter this season with momentum and confidence and have managed to propel themselves to another great season. Toronto has something to prove and is hungry to win a championship. Even though the Milwaukee Bucks are the number one seed in the Eastern Conference, their chemistry on and off the court doesn’t come close to the Raptors as they are much more than just an organization. One of the reasons why Demar DeRozen chose a cold Toronto instead of his hometown Lakers due to the brotherhood and culture that Toronto exhibits. The reason why he was so devastated is not that Masai Ujiri backstabbed him, but because he didn’t want to leave the place where his career started. No team in the NBA has that type of identity. Milwaukee may have the MVP of the season, but Toronto has much more in terms of chemistry, trust, and depth. Furthermore, the Milwaukee Bucks have been struggling and are having issues reenacting their incredible run at the beginning of the season while the Raptors haven’t been at full strength but ended the bubble season with a record of 7-1! The Raptors are finals contenders and should be taken much more seriously in the Eastern conference as they dealt with many forms of adversity and still managed to overcome them. A person’s true personality comes when a person is tested with adversity, and when it comes to the Toronto Raptors, they dealt with it like champions.