2019 NBA Finals
The Toronto Raptors beat the Golden State Warriors 4-2 in the 2019 NBA Finals to win the franchise's first title, with Kawhi Leonard named Finals MVP.
The 2019 NBA Finals were won by the Toronto Raptors, who beat the two-time defending champion Golden State Warriors 4-2 to claim the first championship in franchise history and the first NBA title ever won by a team based outside the United States. Kawhi Leonard, acquired eleven months earlier in a trade almost no one expected to end in a parade, was named Finals MVP after averaging 28.5 points per game across the series. The result closed the Warriors’ five-year run of Finals appearances in the most painful way imaginable, with Golden State losing Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson to serious injuries over the final two games.
| Fast facts | |
|---|---|
| Champion | Toronto Raptors (1st title) |
| Runner-up | Golden State Warriors |
| Dates | May 30 – June 13, 2019 |
| Venue(s) | Scotiabank Arena (Toronto); Oracle Arena (Oakland) |
| Series result | Toronto won 4-2 |
| Finals MVP | Kawhi Leonard (Toronto) |
| Audience (US) | 15.14 million average viewers (ABC) |
The setup — the teams/participants and how they got there
The series existed because of one of the boldest trades in modern NBA history. On July 18, 2018, Toronto president Masai Ujiri sent four-time All-Star DeMar DeRozan, center Jakob Poeltl and a protected first-round pick to the San Antonio Spurs for Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green. Leonard had sat out most of the previous season in a standoff with San Antonio and was reported to have no desire to play in Toronto, leaving Ujiri to bet a franchise cornerstone on a single season to change his mind before free agency.
The gamble paid off on the floor. Leonard played 60 regular-season games and averaged 26.6 points, 7.3 rebounds and 3.3 assists, managed carefully through a “load management” plan, and the Raptors finished with the second-best record in the Eastern Conference. The playoff run that followed became the stuff of Canadian sporting legend. In the conference semifinals Leonard scored 41 points and hit a corner jumper at the horn that bounced on the rim four times before dropping for a 92-90 Game 7 win over the Philadelphia 76ers, the first winning buzzer-beater in a Game 7 in league history. Toronto then fell behind the top-seeded Milwaukee Bucks 2-0 before winning four straight to reach the Finals for the first time.
The Warriors arrived as the sport’s standard. Golden State was making its fifth straight Finals appearance and had won the title in 2017 and 2018, both times with Durant named Finals MVP after he joined the roster in 2016 alongside Stephen Curry, Thompson and Draymond Green. But Durant had been sidelined since mid-May with a calf strain, and the champions entered the series without their best scorer and unsure of when he would return.
How it happened — chronological, game by game or round by round
Toronto struck first, winning Game 1 at Scotiabank Arena to record the first NBA Finals victory in franchise history. Golden State answered in Game 2 to even the series before the teams flew west. In Game 3 at Oracle Arena, Curry poured in 47 points, but Toronto’s depth overwhelmed a short-handed Warriors lineup, and the Raptors won again in Game 4 to seize a commanding 3-1 lead.
Facing elimination in Game 5, Golden State finally got Durant back. The return lasted less than a half. With roughly 10 minutes left in the second quarter, Durant ruptured his right Achilles tendon driving against Serge Ibaka and left the floor to be helped down the tunnel. The Warriors rallied around the loss, with Curry and Thompson carrying the offense, and survived 106-105 to send the series back to Oakland.
Game 6 delivered a second catastrophe. Thompson had scored efficiently when, with 2:22 left in the third quarter, he landed awkwardly after a dunk attempt and tore the ACL in his left knee. He briefly returned to make two free throws before exiting for good. Without two of their three best players, the Warriors still pushed Toronto to the final possessions before the Raptors closed out a 114-110 win to clinch the title. It was the last NBA game ever played at Oracle Arena, the Warriors’ home since 1971, before the team moved to Chase Center in San Francisco.
By the numbers
| Game | Date | Score | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | May 30, 2019 | Toronto 118, Golden State 109 | First Finals win in Raptors history |
| 2 | June 2, 2019 | Golden State 109, Toronto 104 | Warriors even the series in Toronto |
| 3 | June 5, 2019 | Toronto 123, Golden State 109 | Curry scores 47 in defeat |
| 4 | June 7, 2019 | Toronto 105, Golden State 92 | Raptors take a 3-1 series lead |
| 5 | June 10, 2019 | Golden State 106, Toronto 105 | Durant ruptures right Achilles |
| 6 | June 13, 2019 | Toronto 114, Golden State 110 | Thompson tears left ACL; Raptors clinch |
Per Basketball-Reference, 2019 NBA Finals game log.
The record
- 1st Points, 2019 playoffs — Kawhi Leonard (732)
- 1st Win shares, 2019 playoffs — Kawhi Leonard (4.8)
- 1st Rebounds, 2019 playoffs — Draymond Green (223)
- 1st Assists, 2019 playoffs — Draymond Green (187)
Per Basketball-Reference, 2019 NBA playoff leaders. US average audience per Sports Media Watch; Canada Game 6 average audience per Bell Media.
Honors
- Toronto Raptors — 2019 NBA champions
- Kawhi Leonard — 2019 Finals MVP
- First NBA title for a team based outside the United States
- Raptors' first championship in franchise history
- Kawhi Leonard — 2x Finals MVP (2014, 2019)
Per Basketball-Reference and Wikipedia.
The arguments
The debate that has followed the 2019 Finals is whether the Warriors’ injuries deprive Toronto of a “clean” title. Golden State supporters point out that Durant and Thompson, two of the best shooters in league history, were lost over the final two games, and argue that a healthy Warriors team would have been favored to win a third straight championship. Those on the Toronto side counter that the Raptors led 2-1 with Durant still sidelined and up 3-1 before either injury occurred, and that the series was never close to a Golden State blowout even at full strength. Leonard’s postseason, which produced a playoff-leading 732 points, is frequently cited as one of the most dominant individual runs by any champion.
A second argument concerns the nature of the Raptors themselves. Because Leonard left to sign with the Los Angeles Clippers in free agency after the season, some frame the title as a “rental” championship, built for one year rather than a dynasty. Others read it as validation of Ujiri’s willingness to trade a franchise favorite in DeRozan for a single shot at a title, a trade that is now broadly described as one of the most successful in league history. Both readings are common; neither is settled.
Why it matters
The 2019 NBA Finals carried a championship across an international border for the first time and turned Toronto into the center of a national celebration, with a Game 6 clincher that drew an average audience of 7.7 million in Canada — the most-watched NBA game in Canadian history. It also marked a hinge point for the NBA’s defining team of the decade: the Warriors’ run of five straight Finals ended in the same building it had elevated, and the injuries to Durant and Thompson reshaped the balance of power for years afterward. For the Raptors and for Leonard, it remains the definitive answer to the question of who won the 2019 title, and a reminder that a single, well-timed gamble can rewrite a franchise’s history.
