OAKLAND, Calif. -- It can happen so suddenly -- the end of a season, a dynasty, an arena. Few people in and around the NBA had internalized the idea -- swirled it around in their brains, digested it, felt it -- that the Toronto Raptors, the NBA's accidental pseudo-contender who catapulted themselves toward something greater with a trade for the ages, could clinch the NBA championship Monday.
The two fans I met from Malaysia who paid more than $10,000 each for tickets to Games 3, 4, and 5 did not expect that they might get to see the series clincher on Monday.