2018–19_Toronto_Raptors_season

2018–19 Toronto Raptors season

2018–19 Toronto Raptors season

2019 NBA Champions


The 2018–19 Toronto Raptors season was the 24th season of the franchise in the National Basketball Association (NBA). During the off-season, the Raptors acquired small forward Kawhi Leonard from the San Antonio Spurs after trading franchise star DeMar DeRozan. The season ended with the franchise's first NBA Finals appearance and first NBA championship, ending the City of Toronto's 26-year championship drought if not counting Toronto FC’s 2017 MLS championship or Toronto Argonauts multiple Grey Cup Championships. The Raptors were one of two teams to have an offense and defensive rating that both ranked in the top 5 of the NBA.

Quick Facts Toronto Raptors season, Head coach ...

On May 11, 2018, the Raptors fired Dwane Casey after the team was swept by the Cleveland Cavaliers for the second consecutive time in the postseason.[1] On June 14, the Raptors promoted assistant coach Nick Nurse as their head coach.[2] The Raptors played their home games at newly renamed Scotiabank Arena.[3] For the first time since 2008–09, DeMar DeRozan (who spent his first nine seasons in the NBA with the Raptors) did not play for the Raptors, as he was traded, along with Jakob Poeltl and a protected 2019 first-round draft pick, to the San Antonio Spurs for Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green. Later, on February 7, 2019, at the trade deadline, the Memphis Grizzlies traded Marc Gasol to the Raptors for Jonas Valančiūnas, Delon Wright and C. J. Miles. The Raptors later signed Jeremy Lin.

The Raptors finished the regular season with a 58–24 record, one less win than their franchise best the previous season, second best in the league for the second consecutive season, earning the second seed in the Eastern Conference. They also won their fifth Atlantic Division title in six years.

In the playoffs, the Raptors defeated the Orlando Magic in five games in the first round. They edged the Philadelphia 76ers in seven games in the semifinals to make their first Eastern Conference Finals appearance since 2016, with Kawhi Leonard's buzzer-beater over Joel Embiid, giving the Raptors a 92–90 victory in the series-clinching game 7. The series was a rematch of the 2001 Eastern Conference Semifinals, where the Allen Iverson-led 76ers defeated the Vince Carter-led Raptors in seven games. The Raptors defeated the Milwaukee Bucks in the Eastern Conference Finals 4–2, winning the last four games of the series after being down 0–2 to become the sixth team to overcome that deficit. They won the Finals against the two-time defending NBA champion Golden State Warriors, also the first NBA Finals series that was played outside the United States. They beat the Warriors 4–2, becoming the first non-US team to win the NBA title.[4] The Raptors were the first Atlantic Division team since the 2007–08 Boston Celtics and the first Eastern Conference team since the 2015–16 Cleveland Cavaliers to win the championship. Prior to the Raptors victory, the Atlantic Division had had the second longest title drought in the league. This is also Toronto's first major sports championship since the Toronto Blue Jays won the 1993 World Series when not counting Toronto FC’s 2017 MLS championship or Toronto Argonauts multiple Grey Cup Championships.

Draft

The Raptors did not have a pick in the 2018 NBA draft. They had previously traded their selections to the Brooklyn Nets, who ended up drafting Džanan Musa, and to the Phoenix Suns, who ended up drafting George King.

Roster

More information Players, Coaches ...

Standings

Division

More information Atlantic Division, W ...

Conference

More information Eastern Conference, # ...

Record vs opponents

More information Eastern Conference, Western Conference ...

(* game decided in overtime)

Game log

Preseason

More information 2018 pre-season game log Total: 4–1 (Home: 3–0; Road: 1–1), Game ...

Regular season

More information 2018–19 game log Total: 58–24 (Home: 32–9; Road: 26–15), Game ...

Playoffs

see also 2019 NBA Playoffs and 2019 NBA Finals

More information 2019 playoff game log Total: 16–8 (Home: 9–4; Road: 7–4), Game ...

Player statistics

Regular season

More information Player, Pos. ...

After all games.[5]
Waived during the season
Traded during the season
Acquired during the season

Playoffs

More information Player, Pos. ...

Transactions

Trades

July 18, 2018[6] To Toronto Raptors
Kawhi Leonard
Danny Green
To San Antonio Spurs
DeMar DeRozan
Jakob Pöltl
2019 protected Toronto first-round pick
February 6, 2019[7] To Toronto Raptors
Cash considerations
To Philadelphia 76ers
Malachi Richardson
Draft rights to Emir Preldžić
2022 second-round pick
February 7, 2019[8][9] To Toronto Raptors
Marc Gasol
To Memphis Grizzlies
Jonas Valančiūnas
Delon Wright
CJ Miles
2024 second-round draft pick
To Toronto Raptors
Cash considerations
To Brooklyn Nets
Greg Monroe
2021 second-round draft pick

Free agency

Re-signed

More information Player, Signed ...

Additions

More information Player, Signed ...

Subtractions

More information Player, Reason ...

Awards

More information Player, Award ...

References

  1. "Dwane Casey Relieved Of Head Coaching Duties". NBA.com. May 11, 2018. Retrieved May 11, 2018.
  2. "Raptors Name Nick Nurse Head Coach". NBA.com. June 14, 2018. Retrieved June 14, 2018.
  3. Murphy, Blake (July 1, 2018). "Air Canada Centre officially becomes Scotiabank Arena". Raptors Republic. Retrieved July 3, 2018.
  4. "2018-19 Toronto Raptors Roster and Regular season Stats". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved July 21, 2019.
  5. "Toronto Raptors Acquire Kawhi Leonard". NBA.com. July 18, 2018. Retrieved July 18, 2018.
  6. "Raptors get Gasol from Grizzlies". tsn.ca. February 7, 2019. Retrieved February 8, 2019.
  7. "Raptors Re-Sign Fred VanVleet". NBA.com. July 6, 2018. Retrieved July 6, 2018.
  8. "Raptors Sign Brown and Boucher". NBA.com. July 20, 2018. Retrieved July 20, 2018.
  9. "Raptors Sign Loyd To Two-Way Contract". NBA.com. August 7, 2018. Retrieved August 7, 2018.
  10. "Raptors Sign Greg Monroe". NBA.com. August 10, 2018. Retrieved August 14, 2018.
  11. "Raptors Sign Jeremy Lin". NBA.com. February 13, 2019. Retrieved February 18, 2019.
  12. "The @Raptors have waived forward Alfonzo McKinnie". Raptors MR on Twitter. July 17, 2018. Retrieved July 17, 2018.
  13. "Raptors Waive Four". NBA.com. October 12, 2018. Retrieved October 12, 2018.
  14. "Pascal Siakam Named Eastern Conference Player of the Week". NBA.com. November 12, 2018. Retrieved June 10, 2020.
  15. "Nick Nurse Named Eastern Conference Coach of the Month". NBA.com. December 2, 2018. Retrieved June 11, 2020.
  16. "Kawhi Leonard Named Eastern Conference Player of the Week". NBA.com. December 3, 2018. Retrieved June 10, 2020.
  17. "Kawhi Leonard Named Eastern Conference Player of the Week". NBA.com. January 14, 2019. Retrieved June 10, 2020.
  18. "NBA All-Star 2019 starters, captains revealed". NBA.com. January 24, 2019. Retrieved June 10, 2020.
  19. "Kawhi Leonard Named to NBA All-Defensive Second Team". NBA.com. May 22, 2019. Retrieved June 10, 2020.
  20. "Antetokounmpo, Harden lead All-NBA First Team". NBA.com. May 23, 2019. Retrieved June 10, 2020.
  21. "Kawhi Leonard joins elite company in winning Finals MVP". NBA.com. June 14, 2019. Retrieved June 10, 2020.
  22. "2019 NBA Awards: Complete list of winners". NBA.com. June 25, 2019. Retrieved June 10, 2020.

Further reading


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