Toronto Raptors

Toronto Raptors wing OG Anunoby has missed the entirety of the postseason after having an appendectomy April 12, but it's possible he could return during the NBA Finals against the Golden State Warriors, according to Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun:

Per sources, the Raptors are quietly optimistic that they’ll get OG Anunoby back at some point vs. Warriors in the NBA Finals. They don’t know for sure, but spacing of games should help. Also long breaks between most games helps Kawhi quite a bit.

— Ryan Wolstat (@WolstatSun) May 26, 2019

One good sign regarding Anunboy's recovery was his workout before Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals on Saturday.

OG Anunoby is out here getting some (very) light work in. First time I've seen him on the court pre-game since the appendectomy. pic.twitter.com/KZVpLylxfz

— Josh Lewenberg (@JLew1050) May 25, 2019

The NBA Finals begin Thursday night at 9 p.m. ET in Toronto.

Anunoby, 21, averaged seven points and 2.9 rebounds in 20.2 minutes per game this season, appearing in 67 overall contests. But he did take a step back in two key areas from his promising rookie season: overall shooting (from 47.1 percent as a rookie to 45.3 percent this year) and three-point shooting (from 37.1 percent to 33.2 percent).

Nonetheless, his return would give the Raptors another solid defender on the wing and another body to throw at Kevin Durant if the Warriors superstar is able to return to action in the Finals. 

That could ease the burden on Kawhi Leonard, who has not only carried the Raptors' offense throughout the postseason but has also often been asked to guard an opponent's best perimeter player. Leonard's ability to suffocate Giannis Antetokounmpo was a huge factor in Toronto beating the Milwaukee Bucks, and if Toronto wins a title, it will be behind his two-way excellence.

Final numbers for Giannis when guarded by Kawhi in ECF:
- 12-34 FG
- 1-7 from 3
- 5 assists
- 5 turnovers
- 30 points on 160 possessions
- 89.4 offensive rating

He might have been better against Giannis in this series than he was against LeBron in 2014 NBA Finals.

— Micah Adams (@MAdamsStatGuy) May 26, 2019

When Kawhi slowed down LeBron in 2014 Finals, he did it while posting a usage rate of 20% on the other end which ranked 5th on the Spurs in that series.

When Kawhi slowed down Giannis in 2019 ECF, he posted a usage pct of 31% which is nearly a LeBron in the Finals type of load.

— Micah Adams (@MAdamsStatGuy) May 26, 2019

The Raptors won't beat the Warriors by being the better offensive team. If they win, it will be behind defense, and Anunoby will help in that regard, even if it's for small stretches.

It's possible, of course, that he'll only play a small role if he returns at all for this series. He hasn't played since mid-April, after all. But the possibility that he could return is nonetheless good news for a Toronto team seeking to pull off yet another upset and become improbable champions.

Toronto Raptors point guard Kyle Lowry continued to heap praise on teammate Kawhi Leonard after the franchise earned its first NBA Finals berth with a 100-94 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals on Saturday night.

Lowry told Michael Lee of The Athletic it didn't take long for him to realize Leonard was a special talent after the superstar arrived in a July trade from the San Antonio Spurs.

"Right away, first day," Lowry said. "People don't know, he really is an unbelievable dude, really an unbelievable guy. It's fortunate for us to be on our team and to be around him. He jokes. He really laughs and has fun with everything. He really is a good guy."

Leonard has become known for his stone-cold public persona and stoic responses in interviews.

In September, his laugh became a viral sensation after a moment during his media-day press conference:

Here’s Kawhi Leonard doing whatever the robotic equivalent of laughing is. pic.twitter.com/2ZzHM0B7nY

— Faizal Khamisa (@FaizalKhamisa) September 24, 2018

Although the 2014 NBA Finals MVP doesn't appear to enjoy the spotlight that comes along with being one of the league's best players, rarely is a poor word spoken about him from those who've dealt with him away from the television cameras.

"Kawhi was a great teammate all the way through," Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich told reporters after the July trade. "All the stories that denigrated him in that regard, that was unfortunate and inaccurate."

Lowry spoke highly of Leonard's impact heading into Game 6.

"The Kawhi thing and how he approaches s--t is unbelievable," he told Lee. "He stays mellow, calm, and I think we kind of took that. He just brought that with him."

Leonard (player option) can choose to be an unrestricted free agent at season's end, and—in typical fashion—he hasn't publicly discussed his mindset.

But he's clearly made a massive impact during his relatively short stay in Toronto, and it would be a major setback if he leaves over the summer.

Raptors fans would probably forgive him if he brings home an NBA championship first, though. The two-time defending champion Golden State Warriors await in the Finals.

It's no secret that Drake is a huge NBA fan, so with that in mind, it's time to look back on some of his most memorable lyrics related to the two teams in this year's NBA Finals: the Golden State Warriors and Toronto Raptors.

In "Summer Sixteen," Drake said, "Golden State running practice at my house."

Which was sort of a true story.

"[It was] me versus my brother-in-law, with Drake and his boys and some of my family in the stands," Warriors point guard Steph Curry told Adam Fleischer of MTV.com in 2016.

Curry has come up in Drake lyrics as well, such as this segment from "0-100/The Catch Up."

"If I ain't the greatest then I'm headed for it / That mean I'm way up (way up) / Yeah, the 6 ain't friendly but that's where I lay up / This s--t a mothaf--kin' lay up / I been Steph Curry with the shot / Been cookin' with the sauce, Chef Curry with the pot, boy."

And there was this line from "Still Here."

"I gotta talk to God even though he isn't near me / Based on what I got, it's hard to think that he don't hear me / Hittin' like that 30 on my jersey, man, I'm gifted."

Drake also gave a shout-out to Kevin Durant, from his Oklahoma City Thunder days, in "Weston Road Flows."

They didn’t want it, but we got it!” 🔥@Drake after the @Raptors clinch their first trip to the Finals in franchise history! pic.twitter.com/xDqxauVKDz

— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) May 26, 2019

"A lot of people just hit me up when my name is mentioned / Shout-out to KD, we relate, we get the same attention / It's rainin' money, Oklahoma City Thunder / The most successful rapper 35 and under."

Drake even mentioned being a Raptors team ambassador on the song "0-100/The Catch Up."

"F--k all that rap-to-pay-your-bill s--t / I'm on some Raptors-pay-my-bills s--t."

It's unclear whether massaging head coach Nick Nurse during the game is considered part of his duties as a team ambassador.

Oh, and he has his own club in Toronto's Scotiabank Arena: Sher Club. So obviously, Drake gave that some love in "30 for 30 Freestyle."

"I got a club in the Raptors arena / Championships, celebrations during regular seasons."

And of course, we can't talk Drake and basketball references without giving some attention to Raptors legend Vince Carter, as the hip-hop artist did in "Weston Road Flows."

"Been flowin' stupid since Vince Carter was on some through-the-legs, arm-in-the-hoop s--t."

From Carter to Kawhi Leonard and a berth in the NBA Finals, life is good for Drake and his fellow Raptors fans.

The Toronto Raptors defeated the Milwaukee Bucks 100-94 on Saturday night to advance to their first-ever NBA Finals, where they'll face the two-time defending champion Golden State Warriors.

The Raptors overcame a 2-0 deficit to win in six games, and the party was rocking in Toronto after Game 6.

Musician Drake gave Raptors head coach Nick Nurse another massage after the win—the two made light of the controversy from Game 4, after Drake came onto the court and gave Nurse a quick massage.

Another Drake-Nurse massage? Kawhi not. https://t.co/ynF5ri0Ux6

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) May 26, 2019

After the game, meanwhile, Fred VanVleet (4-of-5 from three in Game 6) could barely leave the arena, as a throng of fans surrounded his car:

VanVleet can't even get on the road 😂 (NSFW)

(via @FredVanVleet) https://t.co/GPTUvMsrPT

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) May 26, 2019

While the party raged on in the Toronto locker room, there was only despair for the top-seeded Bucks and superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo, who walked out of his press conference early:

Giannis walked out of his presser https://t.co/AI2IG5Gv9Y

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) May 26, 2019

The thrill of victory and the agony of defeat. It was all on display.

The Toronto Raptors are big fans of Kawhi Leonard as they head to the NBA Finals for the first time.

"He's the best player in the league, and we're happy he's in Toronto," team president Masai Ujiri said after Saturday's clinching win over the Milwaukee Bucks, per Eric Koreen of The Athletic.

Leonard had 27 points, 17 rebounds and seven assists in the 100-94 Game 6 victory at Scotiabank Arena.

Although there will always be debate about who the NBA's best player is, the forward has looked the part since the playoffs began.

He has averaged 31.2 points in 18 playoff games, scoring at least 35 points in seven contests.

On the defensive end, he spent a lot of time on Giannis Antetokounmpo—who many considered the best player in the NBA all season—and helped hold him to 20.5 points over the past four games. The Bucks lost all four.

James Harden was the other MVP candidate during the season, but he was inconsistent in the playoffs, and the Houston Rockets were sent home in the second round.

Of course, Leonard doesn't seem too worried about how he is rated.

"Just want to win," he said after the game, per Tim Reynolds of the Associated Press. "I don't care about being the best player. I want to be the best team. I've always said that."

Meanwhile, Ujiri was a huge believer in Leonard's talent, as he orchestrated a massive offseason trade to acquire the All-Star from the San Antonio Spurs. The team dealt arguably its best player from last season, DeMar DeRozan, in a risky move that appears to have paid off.

There is still a chance Leonard could leave in free agency this summer, but the Raptors will enjoy his presence for at least one more round.

Kawhi Leonard continues to posterize the Milwaukee Bucks in the Eastern Conference Finals, adding another highlight-reel moment during Game 6 on Saturday night at Scotiabank Arena.

In the midst of a 26-3 run, Leonard threw down an emphatic dunk in the face of presumptive NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo to put the Raptors up by eight midway through the fourth quarter.    

Kawhi Leonard has been with the Toronto Raptors for less than a year, but All-Star point guard Kyle Lowry has already seen enough.

"The Kawhi thing and how he approaches s--t is unbelievable," Lowry told The Athletic's Michael Lee. "He stays mellow, calm, and I think we kind of took that. He just brought that with him."

After losing their first game of the postseason, the Raptors ran off four straight victories against the Orlando Magic. They then pulled out a hard-fought, seven-game series victory over the Philadelphia 76ers in the second round.

There was no panic after they fell behind 0-2 to the top-seeded Milwaukee Bucks in the Eastern Conference Finals. Instead, they have responded by winning three straight to come within one win of the franchise's first-ever trip to the NBA Finals.

Through it all, Leonard—acquired in an offseason trade involving franchise cornerstone DeMar DeRozan—has dominated:

Kawhi’s comeback from his 2018 quad injury has been HISTORIC

2019 Playoffs (so far)
31.4 PPG
8.4 RPG
50 FG%
41 3PT%

The Raptors are 1 win away from the NBA Finals pic.twitter.com/B5eW1RofXi

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) May 25, 2019

While many of his teammates have never played in the Finals, Leonard did so twice during his time with the San Antonio Spurs. Not only did he win a ring, but he was also named Finals MVP in 2014.

"I'm not afraid of the moment," Leonard said. "I've been here before. I've been to the Finals, and it's pretty much nothing new that I'm seeing out there. You've just got to have fun with it and enjoy it."

That experience and mentality has allowed him to set the tone in Toronto.

Toronto Raptors point guard Jeremy Lin said a Fiserv Forum security guard asked him for identification following Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Milwaukee Bucks. 

Lin told the story of life on the road in the NBA during an appearance on Wednesday's edition of the Milwaukee Basketball Hour with Bill Michaels and Steve Novak (via Dan Feldman of NBC Sports):

"After Game 2 in Milwaukee, I was trying to get to the team bus and one of the dudes in the Milwaukee arena just screams at me. He's like, 'Where do you think you're going?!' And I'm like, 'Uh, I'm trying to get to the team bus.' He's like, 'What?! Where's your pass?' I was like, 'I don't have a pass. I don't know what you're talking about. I don't have a pass.'

"This happens in a lot of arenas, so I just kind of go with the flow."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-VSTNPPNBFs

Lin hasn't only run into the problem in road games, though.

In September 2015, the Harvard product said he even had trouble getting into his home arena after signing with the Charlotte Hornets that offseason:

Went to the Hornets arena for 1st time and tried convincing security im a player. She said, "what team?!?" lollll #everywhereigo #literally

— Jeremy Lin (@JLin7) September 12, 2015

Lin was actually one of the league's most recognizable players during the Linsanity craze of 2012 as he enjoyed a remarkable breakout stretch with the New York Knicks.

Clearly that period, which even landed him on Time Magazine's annual list of the World's 100 Most Influential People, has faded from the memory of most, though.

Lin is taking the lack of recognition all in stride, however, as the Raptors stand one win away from clinching their first berth in the NBA Finals.

The pressure didn't get to Toronto Raptors forward Kawhi Leonard on Thursday as he scored 35 points to lead his team to a 105-99 win over the Milwaukee Bucks in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals.

After the game, Leonard told reporters that he's "not afraid of the moment" and in fact enjoys it.

Ben Golliver of the Washington Post provided video:

Raptors' Kawhi Leonard (35 points in Game 5 win over Bucks): "I'm not afraid of the moment. I enjoy it." pic.twitter.com/ek7MiFcz42

— Ben Golliver (@BenGolliver) May 24, 2019

Leonard poured in 15 of his 35 points in the fourth quarter, helping his team outscore the host Bucks 33-24 in the final 12 minutes.

The ex-San Antonio Spur isn't a stranger to the playoff spotlight: He won the 2014 NBA Finals MVP after averaging 17.8 points on 61.2 percent shooting and posted 14.6 points and 11.1 rebounds in the prior year's championship round.

He's also excelled in this year's postseason and just joined an exclusive list laden with legends, per NBA.com/Stats:

Kawhi Leonard is the 6th player in postseason history with at least 7 35-point games prior to the NBA Finals, joining Elgin Baylor (1961), Bernard King (1984), Michael Jordan (1989, 1990, 1992), Hakeem Olajuwon (1995), and LeBron James (2009, 2017, 2018)! #SAPStatLineOfTheNight pic.twitter.com/b0AXNGOVgw

— NBA.com/Stats (@nbastats) May 24, 2019

Therefore, his performance shouldn't be surprising, but it's still impressive considering the circumstances. The Bucks led the Raps 18-4 after five minutes and looked like they would easily hold serve on their home court.

However, Toronto settled down thanks largely to Leonard and Fred VanVleet, who hit seven three-pointers. Leonard also provided nine assists, all of which came on three-pointers. Michael Gallagher of Rotoworld reported that the two-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year therefore contributed to 62 of his team's 105 points, or 59 percent of their scoring output. 

The Raptors will get a chance to advance to their first NBA Finals in franchise history when they host the Bucks for Game 6 on Saturday at 8:30 p.m. ET. A win would pit the Raps against the Golden State Warriors.

Drake is fired up after his Toronto Raptors overcame a 14-point deficit to defeat the Milwaukee Bucks 105-99 in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals on Thursday.

Lindsay Dunn of City News Toronto captured postgame video of an exuberant Drake, who expressed his love for the city, the team and its passionate fans en route to exclaiming that the Raps were headed to the NBA Finals:

#raptors one game away from the #nbafinals and the moment we had a surprise scrum with @drake @CityNews @680NEWS pic.twitter.com/TgNeVfzw5I

— Lindsay Dunn (@LindsayDunnTV) May 24, 2019

Spencer Turcotte of CTV Toronto also shot video of Drake doubling down on his NBA Finals guarantee to Raptors fans in Maple Leaf Square, which morphs into Jurassic Park when they congregate for games:

@Drake makes a promise to fans inside Jurassic Park that the @Raptors are making it to the NBA Finals. #RaptorsVsBucks pic.twitter.com/bjVq8INPqk

— Spencer Turcotte (@SpencerCTV) May 24, 2019

Drake's passion for the Raptors knows no bounds. On the sidelines during Game 4, he gave head coach Nick Nurse a quick massage and cheered wildly for Giannis Antetokounmpo free-throw misses:

Nobody:

Drake at Raptors games: https://t.co/ZKFv5EEQ5b

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) May 22, 2019

Drake stays clowning Giannis at the free throw line 💀 https://t.co/W4iiGg7nMi

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) May 22, 2019

We'll see what he has in store for Game 6 on Saturday at 8:30 p.m. ET.

A win puts Toronto in the NBA Finals for the first time in franchise history, which dates back to 1995-96. A loss forces a Game 7 in Milwaukee on Monday at 8:30 p.m. The winner will advance to the NBA Finals against the Golden State Warriors.