6 years ago today, May 12 2019, Toronto experienced the greatest moment in the city’s history. Four bounces of a ball on a rim and the swoosh of a net not audible due to the chasmic uproar of screaming that started before the ball was fully through the nylon.
Kawhi Leonard made a buzzer-beater shot that changed the trajectory of sports culture in the city of Toronto. It seems like we’ve been paying for it ever since.
As the joy of the championship era settled and the reality of the next era of Raptors history set in, it felt more and more each day like we sold our soul to the basketball gods in exchange for that shot.