In 1995, the NBA expanded into Canada with the Toronto Raptors and Vancouver Grizzlies. This page is all about the Raptors, and how their Rewritten Rings history differed greatly from reality.
It all started with the 1995 offseason. In reality, the Raptors drafted Damon Stoudamire, who went on to become Rookie of the Year, but Toronto won just 21 games.
In our first season, the Raptors selected Antonio McDyess, who won the Rookie of the Year award, and they finished with 27 victories. Not much of a difference, right? Well, that was about to change in a big way.
The following season, the Raptors won the 1996 Draft Lottery and would have their choice at the top of one of the greatest drafts in NBA history. They selected Allen Iverson, who won the Rookie of the Year award.
That meant the Rookie of the Year stayed in Toronto for two straight seasons. In reality, the Raptors had the second pick and selected Marcus Camby.
Those real-life Raptors improved by nine games and won 30, while our Raptors improved by 11 and, more importantly, made the playoffs. The real-life Raptors wouldn't make the playoffs until the new millennium, a year after selecting Vince Carter.
Iverson would get injured during his first playoff series, and the Raptors would go down in a sweep to the second-seeded Detroit Pistons, led by four-time MVP Len Bias.
Considering what happened and, more importantly, who they were up against, I considered that a successful second season. Toronto had reached the playoffs just two years after entering the league, and they had a young franchise player in Iverson.
The following year, Iverson and the Raptors were back in the playoffs, again as the seventh seed. This time, their opponent was the 1993 champion Cleveland Cavaliers, featuring former champion and two-time MVP David Robinson.
With a healthy Iverson, the Raptors accomplished another franchise first: they won their first playoff game in franchise history. Unfortunately for Toronto, that was all they would be able to accomplish. The Cavaliers won the series 3-1 and eventually represented the Eastern Conference in the Finals.
Then everything changed.
The following season, the Raptors went from an up-and-coming expansion team to one of the best teams in the entire NBA. Toronto finished 62-20, one of three teams to reach that mark. The defending champion Golden State Warriors and the New Jersey Nets were the other two. Thanks to a tiebreaker, the Raptors earned the No. 1 seed.
What makes this even more impressive is that they did it without completely rebuilding the roster. Toronto had the same starting lineup as the year before, with a young and talented team led by Iverson. Looking back, it almost feels like this team was destined to break through.
Besides Iverson and McDyess, the Raptors had Latrell Sprewell, Doug Christie, and Erick Dampier. That combination of youth, talent, and depth suddenly made Toronto a legitimate championship contender.
It took all five games, but the Raptors finally won their first playoff series in franchise history, defeating the Chicago Bulls. In the Eastern Conference Semifinals, Toronto jumped out to a 3-1 series lead over the New York Knicks. The Knicks fought all the way back to force a Game 7, but Toronto held on at home.
Suddenly, a franchise in just its fourth season was four wins away from the NBA Finals.
Standing in their way were the Boston Celtics, led by the season's MVP, Chris Webber. But Webber went down in Game 1, and the Raptors took advantage, jumping out to a 3-0 series lead.
Surely that meant the series was over, right?
Not quite.
The Celtics, led by third-year player Kevin Garnett and a young Ray Allen, fought all the way back and forced a Game 7 in Toronto. After both teams traded leads down the stretch, Garnett had an opportunity to give Boston the lead again, but couldn't convert. With just 3.8 seconds remaining, Toronto had one final chance.
And Allen Iverson delivered one of the greatest moments in Rewritten Rings history.
Iverson rose over Terrell Brandon and hit the buzzer-beater, sending the Raptors to the NBA Finals.
For me, this is still the greatest moment in the entire sim. And I'm a Celtics fan.
That should tell you just how incredible this moment was.
The Raptors would face the sixth-seeded Phoenix Suns, who were on their own Cinderella run. But after the Eastern Conference pushed Toronto to the limit in every series, the Finals were a completely different story. The Raptors swept Phoenix, to capture their first NBA championship.
Think about that for a moment.
The real-life Raptors were still one year away from simply making the playoffs. Our Raptors had already gone from expansion franchise to NBA champion in just four seasons.
And they didn't just sneak into the playoffs and get hot. They won 62 games, earned the No. 1 seed, survived a Game 7 against the Knicks, won a Game 7 against Boston on a buzzer-beater, and then swept their way to a championship.
This has to be one of the greatest expansion stories in NBA history.
Through the 2002 season of our sim, however, the Raptors haven't been able to recreate that magic. They failed to get past the Eastern Conference Semifinals in 2000 and 2002, and they didn't make the playoffs at all in 2001.
Iverson remains in Toronto, but the roster has changed dramatically. Latrell Sprewell is the only other remaining starter from that magical 1999 championship team.
Check back for future updates as we continue to rewrite the history of the Raptors and discover what comes next in this alternate basketball universe.
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