Fans cheered on the Toronto Raptors from all corners of Canada, gathering around televisions in bars and living rooms and squeezing shoulder to shoulder in city squares for mass public viewings.

Masai Ujiri has long referred to the Raptors as CanadaB次元官网网址檚 team B次元官网网址� and for a few glorious weeks last spring, they truly were.

B次元官网网址淭he momentum of the championship run brought fans from all over the country, and it seemed like unification,B次元官网网址� the Raptors president said. B次元官网网址淓verywhere you looked B次元官网网址� Montreal, Vancouver B次元官网网址� you saw fans watching.B次元官网网址�

B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 what weB次元官网网址檝e always said, itB次元官网网址檚 one team, one country, and if you can put it together that way and youB次元官网网址檙e good, thereB次元官网网址檒l be unified support. We saw that.B次元官网网址�

On Saturday, the Raptors were rewarded for their historic NBA championship run by winning the team of the year award from The Canadian Press for 2019 in a slam dunk.

The Raptors earned 61 of 67 votes in a poll of writers, broadcasters and editors across the country.

B次元官网网址淭he entire country rallied around the Raptors. Million-plus celebration in downtown Toronto. And really, a remarkable feat,B次元官网网址� said Phil King, The Globe and MailB次元官网网址檚 sports design editor.

CanadaB次元官网网址檚 Davis Cup tennis team, the runner-up at the Finals, was second with five votes, while Melissa Humana-Paredes and Sarah Pavan, gold medallists at the world beach volleyball championships, were third (one).

Olympic ice dance champs Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir won the 2018 team award. Only one other basketball team has been honoured B次元官网网址� the Canadian team that won the U19 FIBA World Cup in 2017.

The Raptors became the first Canadian team to claim a title in one of the four major North American leagues since the Toronto Blue Jays won the World Series in 1992 and B次元官网网址�93.

B次元官网网址淣ot only did they win the battles on the court, they also won the hearts and minds of Canadians coast to coast, becoming the first team outside the U.S. to win the NBA title,B次元官网网址� GlobalB次元官网网址檚 lead of special projects George Browne. B次元官网网址淭he celebration culminated in the largest victory parade ever for a Canadian sports team, 2 million strong.B次元官网网址�

With a lunchbucket collection of players carrying big chips, the Raptors made it easy to cheer for them. They defied the odds, winning with a squad that boasted zero NBA lottery picks B次元官网网址� superstar Kawhi Leonard was the highest draft pick at No. 15.

The only NBA squad outside the U.S. gave the league a truly global champion. The RaptorsB次元官网网址� roster mirrored the cityB次元官网网址檚 diversity, with players from all corners of the globe B次元官网网址� Cameroon, Congo, Spain, China, England and Canada. The team was led by Ujiri, who was born in England and raised in Nigeria by his Nigerian dad and Kenyan mom.

The playoffs were packed with B次元官网网址漺here were you whenB次元官网网址� moments, and images so remarkable theyB次元官网网址檒l be among Canadian sportsB次元官网网址� most enduring.

There was a bloodied Fred VanVleet sprawled on the court, a chunk of his tooth on the ground a few feet away. There was VanVleet, mouth open in a guttural scream B次元官网网址� with broken tooth and bandaged cheek B次元官网网址� after hitting a vital three-pointer in a series-clinching Game 6 victory versus Golden State. There was champagne-drenched Leonard dancing in goggles in the celebratory locker-room. And there was of course the shot, the Leonard buzzer-beater that famously bounced four times off the rim before falling, sending Toronto to the conference finals and fans into a frenzy.

Ujiri hasnB次元官网网址檛 paused to watch any of last seasonB次元官网网址檚 playoffs, but sees highlights at various functions he attends.

B次元官网网址淵ou just see moments from the championship run, and you actually remember exactly where you were during those times. It brings some shivers through you,B次元官网网址� Ujiri said. B次元官网网址淥ne thing thatB次元官网网址檚 stupid about our job is youB次元官网网址檙e so in the mood of now, youB次元官网网址檙e thinking about the season now, but every now and then IB次元官网网址檒l see Freddy screaming with his scar, or you see Kawhi run and dunk with his left hand B次元官网网址� just moments. TheyB次元官网网址檙e all precious.B次元官网网址�

Coach Nick Nurse watched the first-round series versus Orlando because it happened to be on TV while he was home one recent afternoon.

B次元官网网址�(That series) seems insignificant but it wasnB次元官网网址檛, it was probably what catapulted us more than anything, losing that Game 1 and playing so well in Game 2, that I say that was where we got our belief,B次元官网网址� Nurse said. B次元官网网址淚 even said it: If we play like this, we can go all the way. But itB次元官网网址檚 still amazing to see the pictures man, of the crowds from the parade, and crowds outside the arena, and really truly how well the team played.B次元官网网址�

Capturing the Larry OB次元官网网址橞rien Trophy was a story a quarter of a century in the making, and the colossal punctuation mark on a season that started off with plenty of questions. Ujiri had fired coach Dwane Casey, replacing him with Nurse, a rookie head coach, and swapped franchise icon DeMar DeRozan for Leonard, an unknown commodity whoB次元官网网址檇 played just nine games the previous season due to injury.

But Leonard was treated with kid gloves; the Raptors made B次元官网网址渓oad managementB次元官网网址� part of the teamB次元官网网址檚 lexicon, resting the star for one game of back-to-backs. And the careful treatment paid off massively with LeonardB次元官网网址檚 performance in the post-season.

The one big negative on the year was LeonardB次元官网网址檚 depature to Los Angeles in the off-season. But Raptors fans were more grateful than hateful, greeting the player who was known as the B次元官网网址淜ing of the NorthB次元官网网址� with an emotional standing ovation when the Clippers played in Toronto recently.

Nurse said the team of the year honour sums up how Canada was B次元官网网址渃aptivated by the Raptors.B次元官网网址�

And the Raptors had never won the award, B次元官网网址渟o another first for the Raptors B次元官网网址� and I think a really cool time for basketball in Canada.B次元官网网址�

Tennis star Bianca Andreescu captured the Bobbie Rosenfeld award for the female athlete of the year on Thursday, while moguls standout Mikael Kingsbury won his second consecutive Lionel Conacher Award for male athlete of the year Friday.

Lori Ewing, The Canadian Press

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