2018–19 Toronto Raptors season
2019 NBA Champions
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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.
| 2018–19 Toronto Raptors season | |
|---|---|
NBA champions | |
Conference champions | |
Division champions | |
| Head coach | Nick Nurse |
| President | Masai Ujiri |
| General manager | Bobby Webster |
| Owners | Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment |
| Arena | Scotiabank Arena |
| Results | |
| Record | 58–24 (.707) |
| Place | Division: 1st (Atlantic) Conference: 2nd (Eastern) |
| Playoff finish | NBA champions (defeated Warriors 4–2) |
Stats at Basketball Reference | |
| Local media | |
| Television | TSN Sportsnet CTV (NBA Playoffs) CTV2 (NBA Finals) Citytv (NBA Finals) RDS (in French) |
On May 11, 2018, the Raptors fired head coach 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. Before their victory, the Atlantic Division had had the second-longest title drought in the league. This was the first championship by a Toronto-based team in one of the major professional sports league since the Toronto Blue Jays won the 1993 World Series, excluding Toronto FC’s 2017 MLS championship and the Toronto Argonauts multiple Grey Cup championships. This was also the first major championship for a Canadian-based team since the Blue Jays World Series championship in 1993, which came less than 5 months after the Montreal Canadiens won the 1993 Stanley Cup.[5][6]
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
| Players | Coaches | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Head coach
Assistant(s)
Legend
Roster |
Standings
Division
| Atlantic Division | W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Div | GP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| y – Toronto Raptors | 58 | 24 | .707 | – | 32–9 | 26–15 | 12–4 | 82 |
| x – Philadelphia 76ers | 51 | 31 | .622 | 7.0 | 31–10 | 20–21 | 8–8 | 82 |
| x – Boston Celtics | 49 | 33 | .598 | 9.0 | 28–13 | 21–20 | 10–6 | 82 |
| x – Brooklyn Nets | 42 | 40 | .512 | 16.0 | 23–18 | 19–22 | 8–8 | 82 |
| New York Knicks | 17 | 65 | .207 | 41.0 | 9–32 | 8–33 | 2–14 | 82 |
Conference
| Eastern Conference | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | Team | W | L | PCT | GB | GP |
| 1 | z – Milwaukee Bucks * | 60 | 22 | .732 | – | 82 |
| 2 | y – Toronto Raptors * | 58 | 24 | .707 | 2.0 | 82 |
| 3 | x – Philadelphia 76ers | 51 | 31 | .622 | 9.0 | 82 |
| 4 | x – Boston Celtics | 49 | 33 | .598 | 11.0 | 82 |
| 5 | x – Indiana Pacers | 48 | 34 | .585 | 12.0 | 82 |
| 6 | x – Brooklyn Nets | 42 | 40 | .512 | 18.0 | 82 |
| 7 | y – Orlando Magic * | 42 | 40 | .512 | 18.0 | 82 |
| 8 | x – Detroit Pistons | 41 | 41 | .500 | 19.0 | 82 |
| 9 | Charlotte Hornets | 39 | 43 | .476 | 21.0 | 82 |
| 10 | Miami Heat | 39 | 43 | .476 | 21.0 | 82 |
| 11 | Washington Wizards | 32 | 50 | .390 | 28.0 | 82 |
| 12 | Atlanta Hawks | 29 | 53 | .354 | 31.0 | 82 |
| 13 | Chicago Bulls | 22 | 60 | .268 | 38.0 | 82 |
| 14 | Cleveland Cavaliers | 19 | 63 | .232 | 41.0 | 82 |
| 15 | New York Knicks | 17 | 65 | .207 | 43.0 | 82 |
Game log
Preseason
| 2018 pre-season game log Total: 4–1 (Home: 3–0; Road: 1–1) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Pre-season: 4–1 (home: 3–0; road: 1–1)
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| 2018–19 season schedule | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Regular season
| 2018–19 game log Total: 58–24 (Home: 32–9; Road: 26–15) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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October: 7–1 (home: 6–0; road: 1–1)
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November: 12–3 (home: 4–2; road: 8–1)
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December: 8–7 (home: 4–2; road: 4–5)
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January: 10–5 (home: 7–1; road: 3–4)
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February: 8–1 (home: 5–1; road: 3–0)
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March: 9–6 (home: 4–3; road: 5–3)
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April: 4–1 (home: 2–0; road: 2–1)
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| 2018–19 season schedule | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Playoffs
see also 2019 NBA Playoffs and 2019 NBA Finals
| 2019 playoff game log Total: 16–8 (Home: 9–4; Road: 7–4) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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First Round: 4–1 (home: 2–1; road: 2–0)
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Conference Semifinals: 4–3 (home: 3–1; road: 1–2)
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Conference Finals: 4–2 (home: 3–0; road: 1–2)
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NBA Finals: 4–2 (home: 1–2; road: 3–0)
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Player statistics
Regular season
| Player | POS | GP | GS | MP | REB | AST | STL | BLK | PTS | MPG | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Danny Green | SG | 80 | 80 | 2,216 | 317 | 126 | 73 | 53 | 821 | 27.7 | 4.0 | 1.6 | .9 | .7 | 10.3 |
| Pascal Siakam | PF | 80 | 79 | 2,548 | 549 | 248 | 73 | 52 | 1,354 | 31.9 | 6.9 | 3.1 | .9 | .7 | 16.9 |
| Serge Ibaka | C | 74 | 51 | 2,010 | 601 | 99 | 29 | 103 | 1,112 | 27.2 | 8.1 | 1.3 | .4 | 1.4 | 15.0 |
| OG Anunoby | SF | 67 | 6 | 1,352 | 197 | 47 | 46 | 22 | 469 | 20.2 | 2.9 | .7 | .7 | .3 | 7.0 |
| Kyle Lowry | PG | 65 | 65 | 2,213 | 312 | 564 | 91 | 31 | 926 | 34.0 | 4.8 | 8.7 | 1.4 | .5 | 14.2 |
| Fred VanVleet | PG | 64 | 28 | 1,760 | 167 | 307 | 57 | 20 | 701 | 27.5 | 2.6 | 4.8 | .9 | .3 | 11.0 |
| Kawhi Leonard | SF | 60 | 60 | 2,040 | 439 | 199 | 106 | 24 | 1,596 | 34.0 | 7.3 | 3.3 | 1.8 | .4 | 26.6 |
| Norman Powell | SG | 60 | 3 | 1,126 | 139 | 91 | 39 | 13 | 516 | 18.8 | 2.3 | 1.5 | .7 | .2 | 8.6 |
| Delon Wright† | PG | 49 | 2 | 897 | 125 | 110 | 46 | 15 | 337 | 18.3 | 2.6 | 2.2 | .9 | .3 | 6.9 |
| C. J. Miles† | SF | 40 | 1 | 562 | 68 | 22 | 18 | 10 | 218 | 14.1 | 1.7 | .6 | .5 | .3 | 5.5 |
| Greg Monroe† | C | 38 | 2 | 423 | 156 | 16 | 13 | 8 | 183 | 11.1 | 4.1 | .4 | .3 | .2 | 4.8 |
| Jonas Valančiūnas† | C | 30 | 10 | 564 | 216 | 29 | 13 | 23 | 384 | 18.8 | 7.2 | 1.0 | .4 | .8 | 12.8 |
| Chris Boucher | PF | 28 | 0 | 163 | 56 | 2 | 6 | 24 | 93 | 5.8 | 2.0 | .1 | .2 | .9 | 3.3 |
| Marc Gasol† | C | 26 | 19 | 648 | 172 | 101 | 24 | 23 | 237 | 24.9 | 6.6 | 3.9 | .9 | .9 | 9.1 |
| Patrick McCaw† | SG | 26 | 1 | 344 | 45 | 27 | 21 | 2 | 69 | 13.2 | 1.7 | 1.0 | .8 | .1 | 2.7 |
| Lorenzo Brown | PG | 26 | 0 | 212 | 31 | 28 | 12 | 5 | 55 | 8.2 | 1.2 | 1.1 | .5 | .2 | 2.1 |
| Jeremy Lin† | PG | 23 | 3 | 433 | 60 | 50 | 9 | 6 | 161 | 18.8 | 2.6 | 2.2 | .4 | .3 | 7.0 |
| Malachi Richardson | SG | 22 | 0 | 103 | 13 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 30 | 4.7 | .6 | .0 | .0 | .0 | 1.4 |
| Jordan Loyd | PG | 12 | 0 | 55 | 9 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 29 | 4.6 | .8 | .5 | .0 | .0 | 2.4 |
| Malcolm Miller | SF | 10 | 0 | 67 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 35 | 6.7 | .5 | .1 | .1 | .1 | 3.5 |
| Jodie Meeks | SG | 8 | 0 | 104 | 12 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 51 | 13.0 | 1.5 | 1.0 | .1 | .1 | 6.4 |
| Eric Moreland† | PF | 4 | 0 | 38 | 17 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 9.5 | 4.3 | 1.0 | .3 | .3 | 1.8 |
- † Denotes player spent time with another team in the season. Stats reflect time with the Raptors only.
Playoffs
| Player | POS | GP | GS | MP | REB | AST | STL | BLK | PTS | MPG | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kawhi Leonard | SF | 24 | 24 | 939 | 218 | 94 | 40 | 17 | 732 | 39.1 | 9.1 | 3.9 | 1.7 | .7 | 30.5 |
| Kyle Lowry | PG | 24 | 24 | 901 | 117 | 159 | 31 | 7 | 361 | 37.5 | 4.9 | 6.6 | 1.3 | .3 | 15.0 |
| Pascal Siakam | PF | 24 | 24 | 891 | 171 | 66 | 24 | 17 | 455 | 37.1 | 7.1 | 2.8 | 1.0 | .7 | 19.0 |
| Marc Gasol | C | 24 | 24 | 735 | 154 | 73 | 21 | 26 | 226 | 30.6 | 6.4 | 3.0 | .9 | 1.1 | 9.4 |
| Danny Green | SG | 24 | 24 | 684 | 87 | 26 | 32 | 11 | 166 | 28.5 | 3.6 | 1.1 | 1.3 | .5 | 6.9 |
| Fred VanVleet | PG | 24 | 0 | 592 | 40 | 62 | 18 | 6 | 192 | 24.7 | 1.7 | 2.6 | .8 | .3 | 8.0 |
| Serge Ibaka | C | 24 | 0 | 500 | 143 | 22 | 11 | 23 | 225 | 20.8 | 6.0 | .9 | .5 | 1.0 | 9.4 |
| Norman Powell | SG | 23 | 0 | 366 | 51 | 26 | 9 | 0 | 150 | 15.9 | 2.2 | 1.1 | .4 | .0 | 6.5 |
| Jodie Meeks | SG | 14 | 0 | 66 | 9 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 22 | 4.7 | .6 | .1 | .3 | .1 | 1.6 |
| Patrick McCaw | SG | 11 | 0 | 48 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 4.4 | .3 | .4 | .2 | .0 | .5 |
| Malcolm Miller | SF | 10 | 0 | 28 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 2.8 | .5 | .1 | .0 | .1 | .8 |
| Eric Moreland | PF | 8 | 0 | 28 | 14 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3.5 | 1.8 | .4 | .0 | .0 | .3 |
| Jeremy Lin | PG | 8 | 0 | 27 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 3.4 | .4 | .5 | .1 | .0 | 1.1 |
| Chris Boucher | PF | 2 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 2.0 | .5 | .0 | .0 | .5 | 2.5 |
Transactions
Trades
| July 18, 2018[7] | To Toronto Raptors Kawhi Leonard Danny Green |
To San Antonio Spurs DeMar DeRozan Jakob Pöltl 2019 protected Toronto first-round pick |
| February 6, 2019[8] | To Toronto Raptors Cash considerations |
To Philadelphia 76ers Malachi Richardson Draft rights to Emir Preldžić 2022 second-round pick |
| February 7, 2019[9][10] | 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
| Player | Signed | Contract |
|---|---|---|
| Fred VanVleet[11] | July 6, 2018 | 2-yr/$18.1M |
| Lorenzo Brown[12] | July 20, 2018 | 1-yr/$1.62M |
Additions
| Player | Signed | Contract | Former team |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chris Boucher[12] | July 20, 2018 | Two-way contract | Golden State Warriors |
| Jordan Loyd[13] | August 7, 2018 | Two-way contract |  Darüşşafaka |
| Greg Monroe[14] | August 10, 2018 | 1-yr/$2.2M | Boston Celtics |
| Jeremy Lin[15] | February 13, 2019 | $697,000[16] | Atlanta Hawks |
Subtractions
| Player | Reason | New Team |
|---|---|---|
| Alfonzo McKinnie[17] | Waived | Golden State Warriors |
| Lucas Nogueira | Unrestricted Free Agent | Baloncesto Fuenlabrada |
| Kay Felder[18] | Waived | Raptors 905 |
| Deng Adel[18] | Waived | Raptors 905 |
| Kyle Collinsworth[18] | Waived | Raptors 905 |
| Eric Moreland[18] | Waived | Phoenix Suns |
| Malcolm Miller | Waived | Raptors 905 |
Awards
| Player | Award | Date awarded | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pascal Siakam | Eastern Conference Player of the Week | November 12, 2018 | [19] |
| Nick Nurse | Eastern Conference Coach of the Month (November) | December 2, 2018 | [20] |
| Kawhi Leonard | Eastern Conference Player of the Week | December 3, 2018 | [21] |
| Kawhi Leonard | Eastern Conference Player of the Week | January 14, 2019 | [22] |
| Kawhi Leonard | NBA All-Star starter (3rd appearance) | January 24, 2019 | [23] |
| Kyle Lowry | NBA All-Star reserve (5th appearance) | January 31, 2019 | [24] |
| Kawhi Leonard | All-Defensive Second Team | May 22, 2019 | [25] |
| Kawhi Leonard | All-NBA Second Team | May 23, 2019 | [26] |
| Kawhi Leonard | NBA Finals MVP | June 14, 2019 | [27] |
| Pascal Siakam | NBA Most Improved Player | June 25, 2019 | [28] |