Vol 3 Chapter 503: Everyone wants to make history

The Raptors set a great record in their team's history: reaching the Finals for the first time.
Born in 1995, the Raptors were born as part of the NBA's overseas expansion plan.
As the league's new army, under the leadership of rookie Damon Stoudemire, they achieved a record of 21 wins and 61 losses. Not ideal, but they are not a bullying team. In the regular season, they beat the Bulls, Sonics and Magic with the best record at the time.
In 1998, the Raptors received rookie Vince Carter from the Warriors on draft night, becoming the Raptors' biggest contributor to the predicament. In the second year Carter joined, the Raptors successfully entered the playoffs. But Carter did not let the Raptors rise completely. The farthest they went was in 2001 with the 76ers led by Iverson in seven games in the Eastern Conference semifinals.
In the 2003 draft, the Raptors got power forward Chris Bosh. As the Raptors continued to miss the playoffs in the 2003-04 season and sent Vince Carter to the New Jersey Nets midway through the 2004-05 season, the team began to rebuild with Chris Bosh as the core.
In the following two seasons, the Raptors did not change much. It was not until 2007 that they finally returned to the playoffs. Under the leadership of Chris Bosh, the Raptors won 47 wins and 35 losses, won the first division championship in team history, and entered the playoffs with the third record in the Eastern Conference. This is also the first non-American team to win the scoring zone championship. However, in the playoffs, they were eliminated by the Nets 4:2 in the first round.
For the Raptors, 2010 was the beginning of a very difficult period. With the departure of core player "Dragon King" Chris Bosh, Andrea Bargnani will become the new core of this team, and the Raptors will also be in the lottery zone for a long time.
It wasn't until Drew agreed to grow up and join Lowry that the Raptors finally became one of the best teams in the league.
Beginning in 2014, they have won the Atlantic Division championship year after year. And in the 2015-16 season, broke through the second round of the playoffs and advanced to the Eastern Conference finals for the first time.
Unfortunately, they, like all the Eastern teams at the time, couldn't get past the mountain of LeBron James. The 2016 Eastern Conference finals lost to the Cavaliers 2:4. In the 2017 Eastern Conference semifinals, they were swept out by the Cavaliers. In 2018, they did not even get a chance to play against James.
Although in the 2017-18 season, the Raptors scored 59 wins and 23 losses in the regular season under the leadership of head coach Devin Casey, Lori and DeRozan, ranking first in the Eastern Conference and creating the best team history. Regular season record. But their performance in the playoffs still made the Raptors management lose their trust.
So, in the summer of 2018, they replaced the original coach Devin Casey with Nick Nas. And sent away DeRozan in exchange for Leonard.
It now appears that this series of operations by the Raptors has paid off tremendously. They grasped the best time after the old king James left the east, before the new king became the throne, actively changed and constantly strengthened, and finally stood on the top of the east. For such a record, the Raptors spent 24 years, but in every subsequent game, they are setting records.
It's not just the Raptors who set records. Their opponents are also setting records.
After defeating the Warriors to win the Western Conference championship, the Oklahoma City Thunder came to the finals for the third time. In this league, 16 teams can reach the finals consecutively. If you distinguish them from the Seattle SuperSonics, the Thunder is the 17th. But there are only six teams that can win two consecutive championships. Celtics, Lakers, Pistons, Bulls, Rockets and Heat. Stronger than the Spurs and Warriors, none of them can accomplish such an achievement.
Now, the Thunder hopefully become the seventh. This is also the goal they have been fighting for this season.
The championship is a huge temptation for any team. Almost all teams are working hard for this. A team with sufficient strength naturally strives for a better ranking, gains home court advantage in the playoffs, and then reaches the finals round by round. Just like the Thunder, the goal is set at the beginning and just work hard. Under-strength teams either get high draft picks through bad positions, chase big-name stars in the free market, or actively trade their favorite players.
Whether it's singing ahead or saving up silently, everyone's goal is to win the championship. But every season, there is only one final. There is only one team that can stand on top. Thunder has experienced that taste, and they want to get more. The Raptors have never experienced that taste, but it must be the taste they dream of. Whoever has the last laugh will become the creator of great historical records.
Regarding the team as a whole, the players on both sides are also creating their own historical records. UU reading www.uukanshu.cóm
Leonard has already won the championship in San Antonio, and even won the FMVP that year. If the Raptors beat the Thunder to win this year, Leonard is likely to win the FMVP. By then he will become another player who can conquer the league on two different teams in the East and West. In this way, his historical status will be greatly improved. At the same time, the impact on his career is huge. You know, Leonard's current contract has only one year left, and he has no tendency to complete a contract extension with the Raptors. Once he enters the free market with the achievements of two championships and two FMVPs, countless teams will join in the pursuit of him. At the same time, it will attract many players and even stars who are fighting for the championship.
Players like Lowry, Ibaka, and Gasol Jr. will also create a historical record of their own career with the Raptors winning the championship and become the championship player in one fell swoop.
If the Thunder succeeds in defending their title, all players will benefit equally. In this league, there are not many players who have won championships, and even fewer players have won two championships. As the star of the team, Westbrook has led the team to two consecutive championships and has the opportunity to win three consecutive championships to establish a dynasty. This is for the promotion of his status in the history of the Thunder and even the promotion of the status of the entire NBA history. A great bonus item.
For An Luo, winning more championships early in his career will allow him to grow faster and accumulate capital. Whether he will stay in Oklahoma or go elsewhere, these capitals will be a great help for him.
The glory of the team and personal achievements are always the goals pursued by the stars of this league. No one is humble, everyone wants to make history.