The Toronto Raptors have come a long way from their days as an expansion team in the 1990s. Their pinnacle came in 2019, when a veteran-led group powered by Kawhi Leonard delivered the franchise’s first championship.
And that magical campaign culminated in a win over the feared Golden State Warriors. However, none of that would have happened had it not been for the breathtaking buzzer-beater that Kawhi sank in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals against Joel Embiid and the Philadelphia 76ers.
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While the sequence that led to Kawhi’s four-bounce miracle is well known today, what isn’t talked about as much is the fact that some Raptors players didn’t believe the high-arcing jumper would find the bottom of the net.
A rough-and-tumble game
The Game 7 game, which was at the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, played like these games usually do: slow and scrappy. Neither team could get their offense going, and it was a defensive slugfest from the beginning. As a matter of fact, the Raptors won only one quarter in that entire game — the first wherein they outscored the Sixers, 18-13.
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“It was a back-and-forth game. Not the prettiest of basketball,” a former Raptors guard shared. “But that’s just the way this series has been.”
The pressure on both teams was palpable with every possession scrutinized and every detail amplified. Scoring proved to be a challenge, but their defenses stood resilient — far stronger than the Alamo ever did.
“You know those games tilt one way or the other with small details. We played unbelievable defence to get to that point,” Raptors center Marc Gasol chimed in. “That’s what you try to do — you try to create opportunities and chances to win the game and hopefully you get a lucky bounce that allows you to go to the next round.”
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Kawhi’s shot didn’t look on target
As the game entered its final stages, Leonard was pissed at himself for not only splitting his free throws but also for not getting back on defense to thwart Jimmy Butler’s drive to the rack, which tied the game at 90-all with 4.2 seconds remaining. The silver lining to that miscue was that Kawhi was determined to atone for his mistake.
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“I probably should have sprinted back to give some help on that layup Jimmy made,” The Claw expressed. “But after that I was just like, ‘whatever play [coach] drew up, I’m about to get to my spot and shoot it, and shoot it with confidence.'”
Kyle Lowry remembered that the play head coach Nick Nurse had run before to perfection.
“That was the play,” Lowry conveyed. “Give ‘Whi the ball, and he got to his spot and basically we watched greatness.”
However, the Sixers on the bench and Nurse had doubts as the play unfolded. As Kawhi drove to his right with stellar defender Ben Simmons on his hip and Embiid joining the fray, Nurse was skeptical about his ace’s chances of getting a clean shot off.
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“I actually didn’t think he was going to get anything off,” he surmised. “He kept getting bounced out wider and wider. And then Embiid came flying. If the center reads it right, he can get to that sometimes.”
Kawhi was relentless and shot the ball over Embiid’s outstretched arms. From Fred VanVleet‘s vantage point, he thought the shot was off the left.
“I thought there was no chance it was going in,” FVV recalled. “Standing behind him, you could see the trajectory of it. It looked like it was going off to the left.”
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Veteran wingman Danny Green also felt the same way.
“It didn’t look like it was on target. It bounced, and it gives you a little bit of lightning,” he noted. “It bounced again and you’re like, OK, we may have a shot here.”
As the ball bounced once, twice, thrice, and four times on the rim, it felt like time stood still as everyone held their breath. Finally, as the clock read 0.0 and the buzzer sounded, the ball fell through the hoop, giving Toronto a historic win and sending them to their first-ever conference finals.
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“We didn’t know what to do. I didn’t know what to do for like a split second,” wingman Norman Powell said. “Then I just ran over to Kawhi.”
Leonard only stayed one season in Toronto, but he sure made it unforgettable, from his Game 7 miracle to his scintillating performance in that incredible postseason run.
This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Sep 3, 2025, where it first appeared in the Old School section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.