2018–19 Toronto Raptors season – Wikipedia

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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’s and the country’s 26-year Big Four championship drought.

Raptors victory celebration in Toronto on June 17, 2019

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, 2018, 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) didn’t 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, during 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. Despite parting with DeRozan and head coach Dwane Casey, they finished the regular season with a 58–24 record, one less win than their franchise best last season, second best in the league for the second consecutive season, and second seed in the Eastern Conference.

In the playoffs, the Raptors defeated the Orlando Magic in five games in the first round. They defeated 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 in Game 7, which gave the Raptors a 92–90 series-clinching victory. 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 and first in the conference finals since 1992–93 Chicago Bulls had defeated the 1992–93 New York Knicks. 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 team based in Canada to win the NBA title.[4] The Raptors were the first Atlantic Division team since the 2007–08 Boston Celtics to win the championship, and the first Eastern Conference team since the 2015–16 Cleveland Cavaliers to win the championship. This would mark that every NBA division except for the Northwest Division has been represented with a championship in the 2010s. Prior to the Raptors victory in the 2018-19 NBA Finals, the Atlantic Division had the second longest title drought in the league. The Northwest Division will hold the record for having the longest championship drought of all divisions in the league with the 1978-79 Seattle Supersonics being the last champion.

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.

2018–19 Toronto Raptors roster
Players Coaches
Pos. No. Name Height Weight DOB (YYYY-MM-DD) From
F 3 Anunoby, OG 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 232 lb (105 kg) 1997–07–17 Indiana
F 25 Boucher, Chris 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1993–01–11 Oregon
C 33 Gasol, Marc 7 ft 1 in (2.16 m) 255 lb (116 kg) 1985–01–29 Spain
G/F 14 Green, Danny 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1987–06–22 North Carolina
F/C 9 Ibaka, Serge 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 235 lb (107 kg) 1989–09–18 Republic of the Congo
F 2 Leonard, Kawhi 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 230 lb (104 kg) 1991–06–29 San Diego State
G 17 Lin, Jeremy 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1988–08–23 Harvard
G 7 Lowry, Kyle 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 196 lb (89 kg) 1986–03–25 Villanova
G 8 Loyd, Jordan (TW) 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1993–07–27 Indianapolis
G 1 McCaw, Patrick 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1995–10–25 UNLV
G 20 Meeks, Jodie 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1987–08–21 Kentucky
F 13 Miller, Malcolm 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1993–03–06 Holy Cross
F/C 15 Moreland, Eric 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 238 lb (108 kg) 1991–12–24 Oregon State
G/F 24 Powell, Norman 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1993–05–25 UCLA
F 43 Siakam, Pascal 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 230 lb (104 kg) 1994–04–02 New Mexico State
G 23 VanVleet, Fred 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1994–02–25 Wichita State
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (DP) Unsigned draft pick
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (S) Suspended
  • (GL) On assignment to G League affiliate
  • (TW) Two-way affiliate player
  • Injured Injured

Roster
Last transaction: 2019–06–12

Standings[edit]

Division[edit]

Conference[edit]

Record vs opponents[edit]

Eastern Conference Western Conference
Atlantic Division Northwest Division
Team Home Away Team Home Away
Boston 113–101 118–95 116–123* 108–117 Denver 103–106 86–95
Brooklyn 122–105 127–125 105–106* 115–105 Minnesota 112–105 120–100
New York 128–112 128–92 104–99 117–92 Oklahoma City 109–116 123–114*
Philadelphia 129–112 113–102 101–126 119–107 Portland 119–117 122–128
Utah 122–116 124–111
8–0 4–4 3–2 3–2
Division 12–4 Division 6–4
Central Division Pacific Division
Team Home Away Team Home Away
Chicago 95–89 112–103 122–83 124–101 Golden State 131–128* 113–93
Cleveland 116–104 126–110 106–95 101–126 L.A. Clippers 121–103 123–99
Detroit 104–106 107–112* 107–110 L.A. Lakers 111–98 121–107
Indiana 99–96 121–105 106–110 Phoenix 111–109 107–98
Milwaukee 99–104 92–105 109–124 123–116 Sacramento 120–105 114–105
6–3 4–5 5–0 5–0
Division 10–8 Division 10–0
Southeast Division Southwest Division
Team Home Away Team Home Away
Atlanta 104–101 124–108 119–101 Dallas 116–107 123–120
Charlotte 127–106 114–115 111–113 Houston 95–107 119–121
Miami 125–115 117–109* 106–104 125–104 Memphis 119–90 122–114
Orlando 98–113 121–109 93–91 87–116 New Orleans 110–126 127–104
Washington 125–107 129–120 117–113 140–138** San Antonio 120–117 107–125
7–2 7–2 3–2 3–2
Division 14–4 Division 6–4
Conference 36–16 (Home: 21–5; Away: 15–11) Conference 22–8 (Home: 11–4; Away: 11–4)
Overall 58–24 (Home: 32–9; Away: 26–15)

(* game decided in overtime)

Game log[edit]

Preseason[edit]

2018 pre-season game log
Total: 4–1 (Home: 3–0; Road: 1–1)

Pre-season: 4–1 (Home: 3–0; Road: 1–1)
2018–19 season schedule

Regular season[edit]

2018–19 game log
Total: 58–24 (Home: 32–9; Road: 26–15)

October: 7–1 (Home: 6–0; Road: 1–1)

November: 12–3 (Home: 4–2; Road: 8–1)

December
: 8–7 (Home: 4–2; Road: 4–5)

January
: 10–5 (Home: 7–1; Road: 3–4)

February
: 8–1 (Home: 5–1; Road: 3–0)

March
: 9–6 (Home: 4–3; Road: 5–3)

April
: 4–1 (Home: 2–0; Road: 2–1)
2018–19 season schedule

Playoffs[edit]

see also 2019 NBA Playoffs and 2019 NBA Finals

2019 playoff game log
Total: 16–8 (Home: 9–4; Road: 7–4)

First Round: 4–1 (Home: 2–1; Road: 2–0)

Conference Semifinals: 4–3 (Home: 3–1; Road: 1–2)

Conference Finals: 4–2 (Home: 3–0; Road: 1–2)

NBA Finals: 4–2 (Home: 1–2; Road: 3–0)

Player statistics[edit]

Regular season[edit]

Player Pos. GP GS MP Reb. Ast. Stl. Blk. Pts.
OG Anunoby SF 67 6 1,352 197 47 46 22 469
Chris Boucher PF 28 0 163 56 2 6 24 93
Lorenzo Brown‡ PG 26 0 212 31 28 12 5 55
Marc Gasol≠ C 26 19 648 172 101 24 23 237
Danny Green SG 80 80 2,216 317 126 73 53 821
Serge Ibaka C 74 51 2,010 601 99 29 103 1,112
Kawhi Leonard SF 60 60 2,040 439 199 106 24 1,596
Jeremy Lin≠ PG 23 3 433 60 50 9 6 161
Kyle Lowry PG 65 65 2,213 312 564 91 31 926
Jordan Loyd PG 12 0 55 9 6 0 0 29
Patrick McCaw≠ SG 26 1 344 45 27 21 2 69
Jodie Meeks≠ SG 8 0 104 12 8 1 1 51
C. J. Miles† SF 40 1 562 68 22 18 10 218
Malcolm Miller≠ SF 10 0 67 5 1 1 1 35
Greg Monroe† C 38 2 423 156 16 13 8 183
Eric Moreland≠ PF 4 0 38 17 4 1 1 7
Norman Powell SG 60 3 1,126 139 91 39 13 516
Malachi Richardson† SG 22 0 103 13 0 1 0 30
Pascal Siakam PF 80 79 2,548 549 248 73 52 1,354
Jonas Valančiūnas† C 30 10 564 216 29 13 23 384
Fred VanVleet PG 64 28 1,760 167 307 57 20 701
Delon Wright† PG 49 2 897 125 110 46 15 337

After all games.[5]
‡Waived during the season

†Traded during the season

≠Acquired during the season

Playoffs[edit]

Transactions[edit]

Trades[edit]

Free agency[edit]

Re-signed[edit]

Additions[edit]

Subtractions[edit]

References[edit]

  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. ^ “Raptors send Toronto into raptures as they beat Warriors to take first NBA title”. Guardian. June 11, 2019. Retrieved June 14, 2019.
  5. ^ “2018-19 Toronto Raptors Roster and Regular season Stats”. basketball-reference.com. Retrieved July 21, 2019.
  6. ^ “Toronto Raptors Acquire Kawhi Leonard”. NBA.com. July 18, 2018. Retrieved July 18, 2018.
  7. ^ “Raptors Acquire Cash Considerations from Philadelphia”. NBA.com. Retrieved February 6, 2019.
  8. ^ “Raptors get Gasol from Grizzlies”. tsn.ca. February 7, 2019. Retrieved February 8, 2019.
  9. ^ “Brooklyn Nets Complete Trade with Toronto Raptors”. NBA.com. February 7, 2019.
  10. ^ “Raptors Re-Sign Fred VanVleet”. NBA.com. July 6, 2018. Retrieved July 6, 2018.
  11. ^ a b “Raptors Sign Brown and Boucher”. NBA.com. July 20, 2018. Retrieved July 20, 2018.
  12. ^ “Raptors Sign Loyd To Two-Way Contract”. NBA.com. August 7, 2018. Retrieved August 7, 2018.
  13. ^ “Raptors Sign Greg Monroe”. NBA.com. August 10, 2018. Retrieved August 14, 2018.
  14. ^ “Raptors Sign Jeremy Lin”. NBA.com. February 13, 2019. Retrieved February 18, 2019.
  15. ^ “Jeremy Lin Contract”.
  16. ^ “The @Raptors have waived forward Alfonzo McKinnie”. Raptors MR on Twitter. July 17, 2018. Retrieved July 17, 2018.
  17. ^ a b c d “Raptors Waive Four”. NBA.com. October 12, 2018. Retrieved October 12, 2018.


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