The 2019 NBA Finals was the championship series of the National Basketball Association (NBA)’s 2018–19 season and conclusion of the year’s playoffs. In the best-of-seven playoff series held from May 30 through June 13, 2019, the Eastern Conference champion Toronto Raptors defeated the Western Conference champion Golden State Warriors, four games to two, making the franchise its first NBA championship as well as the first win with a team based outside the USA. In his first year playing the Raptors after being obtained using a trade throughout the off-season, Kawhi Leonard has been named the NBA Finals Most Valuable Player (MVP) for the second time in his career.
This was the first NBA Finals appearance for the Raptors, and the league’s first finals with games played out of the USA. Home-court benefit was awarded to Toronto, who completed the regular season with one more triumph (58–24) than Golden State (57–25). This was the very first time in five consecutive NBA Finals appearances the then-two-time defending NBA-champion Warriors did not possess home-court advantage. Additionally for the first time within the past five postseasons, the Warriors as well as the Cleveland Cavaliers didn’t meet in the championship round. This was the very first finals since 2010 not to include LeBron James, who played with at the past eight finals together with Cleveland and the Miami Heat.
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