For the first time in franchise history, the Toronto Raptors are NBA champions.
It took six hard-fought games and some unfortunate injury issues for their opponent, but ultimately the Raptors were able to take down the two-time defending champion Golden State Warriors in the Finals to claim the coveted Larry O'Brien trophy for themselves.
On Monday morning, the Raptors took to the streets of Toronto to celebrate their first NBA title, and the first major sports title in the city since 1993. The parade began at Exhibition Place and ultimately made its way to Nathan Phillips Square for a celebration rally.
While the parade was extremely well attended, it didn't necessarily progress super smoothly. The final rally at Nathan Phillips Square was delayed as the parade route took much longer to complete than initially expected. Additionally, technical issues cut out the video and sound from the main stage screens, and other issues -- such as a lack of water and over-crowding -- plagued those in attendance.
Technically problems so no music or video on the stage or screens; heat and a lack of water bottles; and almost no way to get out of the crowd, which is packed as the world’s biggest rush-hour subway car. This could have been planned and executed better. https://t.co/spo8yaSuxq
— Bruce Arthur (@bruce_arthur) June 17, 2019
Unfortunately, things got much worse from there, as there was a shooting at the parade that left two people with non-life-threatening injuries, according to Toronto police. They also reported that two individuals are in custody.
SHOOTING:
— Toronto Police OPS (@TPSOperations) June 17, 2019
Nathan Phillip's Square
-Bay St and Albert St
-Police have located 2 victims
-Injuries serious but not life threatening
-2 people in custody
-2 firearms recovered
-Investigating
^dh
Despite the hiccups, the Raptors players felt the love that was showered on them by the city all afternoon.
"It's been amazing," All-Star forward Kawhi Leonard said to the massive crowd. "Thank you Toronto, thank you Canada for the support, we did it."
Mike Bartlett, a Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment official, said he anticipated between 1.5 and 2 million people to attend the Raptors parade, per Chris Fox and Joshua Freeman of CP24.
With their victory, the Raptors became the first team outside of the United States to win an NBA title, and it's clear that the people in Toronto were ready to celebrate with the team on Monday.