2019 NBA Finals

**2019 NBA Finals**
Dates:	May 30 – June 13
MVP:	Kawhi Leonard
Television:	Canada:; English: Sportsnet/Citytv (Games 1, 3, and 5); TSN/CTV 2 (Games 2, 4, and 6); French: RDS; United States:; English: ABC; Spanish: ESPN Deportes
Announcers:	Canada: Matt Devlin (play-by-play); Leo Rautins (Sportsnet analyst); Jack Armstrong (TSN analyst); Alexandre Tourigny (RDS play-by-play); Will Archambault (RDS analyst); United States: Mike Breen (ABC play-by-play); Jeff Van Gundy/Mark Jackson (ABC analysts); Doris Burke (ABC sideline reporter); Álvaro Martín (ESPN Deportes play-by-play); Carlos Morales (ESPN Deportes analyst);
Radio network:	ESPN Radio (English (United States)); Golden State Warriors Radio Network (Golden State); Sportsnet 590 The FAN (Toronto); TSN Radio 1050 (Toronto)
Announcers:	Marc Kestecher and Hubie Brown (ESPN Radio); Tim Roye, Jim Barnett and Tom Tolbert (Golden State); Eric Smith and Paul Jones (Toronto)
	Referees:
	Game 1: James Capers, Jason Phillips, John Goble
	Game 2: Scott Foster, Tony Brothers, Ed Malloy
	Game 3: Marc Davis, David Guthrie, Kane Fitzgerald
	Game 4: Mike Callahan, Zach Zarba, Eric Lewis
	Game 5: James Capers, Jason Phillips, Ed Malloy
Eastern Finals:	Raptors defeated Bucks, 4–2
Western Finals:	Warriors defeated Trail Blazers, 4–0
	< 2018 NBA Finals

The 2019 NBA Finals was a championship series in the National Basketball Association (NBA)'s 2018–19 season. Both teams played in a "best-of-seven" series (one team has to win at least four games). This series began on May 30th and ended on June 13th, with the Raptors winning 4-2.^[1] The Toronto Raptors won against the two-time defending champion Golden State Warriors. Kawhi Leonard was named the Finals MVP for the second time in his career, after 2014. Both teams had won their conference finals (the Raptors play in the Eastern Conference and the Warriors play in the Western Conference), meaning that they had to face off. This was the first time the Raptors won an NBA Finals and also the first time a Canadian team, and a team outside the United States overall, had won the Finals.^[2]^[3]

The Warriors played in the NBA Finals again. It was their fifth straight time playing in the Finals, and their last until 2022. This was the first time that the Raptors had ever played in the NBA Finals, just 23 years after they joined the league in 1996.

This was the first Finals since 2010 not to include LeBron James who played in the last eight Finals. Of which, he made four each with the Miami Heat and Cleveland Cavaliers.

Series summary

Game	Date	Away Team	Result	Home Team
Game 1	Thursday, May 30	Golden State Warriors	109–118 (0–1)	Toronto Raptors
Game 2	Sunday, June 2	Golden State Warriors	109–104 (1–1)	Toronto Raptors
Game 3	Wednesday, June 5	Toronto Raptors	123–109 (2–1)	Golden State Warriors
Game 4	Friday, June 7	Toronto Raptors	105–92 (3–1)	Golden State Warriors
Game 5	Monday, June 10	Golden State Warriors	106–105 (2–3)	Toronto Raptors
Game 6	Thursday, June 13	Toronto Raptors	114–110 (4–2)	Golden State Warriors

Victory parade

On 17 June, the Raptors held a parade in Toronto to celebrate them winning. It began at Princes' Gates in Exhibition Place and ended at Nathan Phillips Square next to the Toronto City Hall.^[4] Over two million people came to watch the parade. Because of this, the parade was the largest public gathering in Canadian history. However, because there were so many people, the parade was slowed down by three hours.^[5]

2019 NBA Finals Media

Game 2 at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, which Golden State won
Kawhi Leonard shooting a free throw in Game 2
Toronto Raptors commentary team members Matt Devlin and Jack Armstrong in the Scotiabank Arena during Game 2; note the advertisement of YouTube TV (despite its lack of legal availability there at the time) behind the announcers
Toronto's Nathan Phillips Square on June 17, 2019, with crowds surrounding the Toronto Sign during the victory parade