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They might never earn LeBron’s respect, because they’ve never come close to beating him, but, if they didn’t before, they now have the admiration of the mighty Golden State Warriors. Some even see a parallel between Golden State and Toronto (aside from the championships).

The Warriors were a disaster for decades (remember this piece before everything turned around?), but thousands of fans stayed loud and loyal despite only a single playoff appearance in 18 years.

“For me, it’s wonderful to see the Raptors the last few years having so much success,” said head coach Steve Kerr.

“I think these fans deserve it just like ours did after dealing with so much for all those years.”

“Great atmosphere, this has always been one of my favourite arenas. When I used to come here to do TV games it reminded me, actually, of Oracle. At the time neither team was any good and both arenas were electric. And that said everything to me. You’ve got fan bases that love the game, love their team and support their team no matter what.”

Added Kevin Durant: “The crowd is always amazing here … They’ve been building this for a long time, since (Casey) won a championship in Dallas and he became the head coach here,” Durant said.

“He changed the culture and they play extremely hard. They play through DeMar. I wouldn’t say he made DeMar into a superstar but they gave him the opportunity to take over the offence and DeMar has flourished because of it and also Kyle. He’s a great coach I’m glad he’s still here, I’m glad he’s still pushing, they’re one of the best teams in the league.”