A few nights ago history was made because for the first time, North American sports was defined by the ‘true North’ Canadian team that won a championship. Led by Kawhi Leonard and Kyle Lowry, the Toronto Raptors took down the Golden State Warriors’ dynasty, winning the series 4-2. The Raptors were undeniably dominant, but let’s view things from the perspective of the Warriors.

With no Kevin Durant (KD) and no Klay Thompson, the Warriors weren’t themselves. ‘Kawhi me a river’ was on the back of Drake’s shirt. With the Splash brothers around (nickname for Klay and Steph), a river was necessary to make a splash, but alas, how could you splatter without a key Splash brother – Klay Thompson? It would only lead to drowning.

After leading the series 3-1, the Raptors’ victory had looked sure. But just when we thought the Raptors would wrap things up, they returned. Who are ‘they’? KD, Klay and Steph Curry of course. It wasn’t over. A few minutes later in the first quarter of Game Five, the three musketeers became a less than dynamic duo.

At some point, some of the Raptors’ players were trying to get their fans to stop clapping. How could people cheer for someone’s demise? Even though that someone was… you guessed it… Kevin Durant. He was injured again!

Somehow the Warriors still managed to win, but the series was not over. Game six baby! It was to be the last game ever played in the Oracle arena, the home of the Warriors. If only there was an actual Oracle to control the outcome. Would the Raptors keep ‘the Bay’ at bay, or would the Warriors fossilize Kawhiosaurus Rex?

The loss of Durant seemed to have moulded ‘the Klay’. Klay Thompson went on fire, he was playing for KD. Somehow, the Warriors managed to gain a lead by two in the third quarter. Then it happened. The Klay had cracked. Thompson lay on the floor writhing with pain. He was injured again. He ran back court, it was over. But then he came back out. He shot two free throws, had he recovered? Nah. It was over. He went back in and never came back out.

Green was there, and so was Iguodala and Cousins, but that was too much weight for Steph Curry to carry. With less than nine seconds left, a miracle happened. The Raptors had lost the ball. There was just enough time for Golden State to win. They just needed to score two points. Time out. A master plan was surely being devised. The whistle blew. Back on court. Green gets the ball, Green passes it back out to Curry, Chef Curry with the pot! ‘Jah Know’. He missed. A few fouls later and Toronto had made history: winning by four points.

The dynasty has ended. Next year we will be writing from the perspective of the Raptors. Will the narrative be similar or will they create their own dynasty? As far as things seem this Jurassic Park (the name of Toronto’s stadium) will definitely have a part two, if not, part three, four maybe… Okay, let’s not get ahead of ourselves. But one thing’s for sure, this team is huge.With KD seemingly ready to leave Golden State, with Giannis and the upcoming Zion Williamson perhaps needing a few more years to start dynasties of their own, these Raptors won’t go extinct any time soon.

–Fabrizio Darby