In the end, there was no need for the ticker tape, no call for the championship parade — not even an en masse road trip to a Game 7 in Cleveland that would have extended Toronto’s wild playoff joyride another glorious night.
But Friday’s 113-87 loss to the Cavaliers in Game 6, when you put it in the context of 21 years of Toronto’s mostly sadsack NBA history, amounted to an unprecedented conclusion to a pro basketball season.
It was probably the first time in Raptors playoff history that a run ended with a feeling that the team had come somewhere close to maxing out its potential — a different, more dignified way to go out.