The Toronto Raptors have had several successful stretches of basketball, even if they weren’t the NBA odds favourites of winning a playoff series.
In 2019, Toronto capitalised on its championship basketball odds despite being listed as underdogs by online sportsbooks.
With that said, what are the five biggest Raptors playoff upsets in team history? Let’s find out.
Biggest Upsets By Toronto Raptors in Playoffs
5. Raptors Defeat Indiana Pacers in Seven Games (2016)
Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan struggled mightily this series, but the Raptors managed to win their first playoff series in 15 years.
Toronto managed to steal Game 7 despite scoring just 11 points in the fourth quarter.
4. Raptors Defeat Miami Heat in Seven Games (2016)
Lowry and DeRozan rediscovered their shooting touch in this series, but Toronto still had to overcome the loss of Jonas Valančiūnas.
The Miami Heat were still led by Dwyane Wade, a proven playoff winner, so many fans and analysts didn’t think the Raptors would win this series and advance to their first Eastern Conference finals in franchise history.
3. Raptors Defeat Milwaukee Bucks in Six Games (2019)
The Milwaukee Bucks had just finished the regular season with the best record and were led by then-MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Milwaukee stole the first two games of the conference finals, but Toronto’s length and physicality inside made life very difficult for Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton.
2. Raptors Defeat New York Knicks in Five Games (2001)
This was the first playoff series win for the Raptors, avenging a sweep by the New York Knicks the year before.
Vince Carter delivered 27 points against a tough Knicks defence in Game 5 at Madison Square Garden and dropped 32 points the game before.
1. Raptors Defeat Golden State Warriors in Six Games (2019)
The Golden State Warriors were coming off three championships in four years, but were without Kevin Durant for all but 12 minutes of the series.
Still, it’s incredibly hard to beat a group that helped revolutionize the game of basketball, led by Stephen Curry, especially in the Finals.
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