By now, I’m sure you’ve seen it. Kawhi Leonard’s game-winning, buzzer-beating shot in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals was seen, heard and witnessed by millions around the world. Because of it, the Toronto Raptors will move onto the Eastern Conference Finals.
But we’ll get to that later.
To understand what that shot, and this playoff run, means to Raptors fans, the city of Toronto, and Canadian basketball, we need to go back 20 years.
Vinsanity
The 1998-99 NBA season was year number four of the Toronto Raptors franchise. As is typical with expansion teams in their early years, the Raptors hadn’t accomplished much to that point.