OAKLAND, Calif. -- Twice in their short time together, Masai Ujiri and Kawhi Leonard felt the need to bond with an embrace. The first was last summer when they met, the gambling team president greeting the star forward with the wounded reputation. It was welcoming and friendly enough, but not much more meaningful than an obligatory bro hug.

Oh, but the second time? This came after the Toronto Raptors clinched their first title with a 114-110 win in Game 6 of The Finals against the Golden State Warriors at Oracle Arena. This squeeze was deep and rich and emotional. And tight. As they grabbed each other on the court, you couldn’t slide a piece of fallen confetti between them.

The Raptors have at last climbed to the top of the NBA heap.

Their roles, along with their basketball lives, were instantly changed at that moment. Ujiri was now fully redeemed for making a risky trade, one that fortified a franchise and energized an entire country. And Leonard? He was now a champion and a Finals MVP once more, reputation restored.

Masai and Kawhi. The crowning achievement of the 2019 NBA champions began with names that rhymed and a relationship that happened right on time.

“It’s about the players and the coaches,” Ujiri said, deflecting credit. “It doesn’t matter what decisions we make. Once those are done, now we have to play. And these players played their butts off. And the ownership has to give us the opportunity. There are hundreds of moves that we made that could’ve been mistakes, and moves we made that we thank God we didn’t make. The ones we made, the players and the coaches made them work.”

Landing Leonard worth the risk

The Raptors accomplished the unexpected by taking advantage of a two-time defending champion that shattered in pieces before everyone’s stunned eyes. Two days after the Warriors lost superstar Kevin Durant with a torn Achilles, they were horrified again when Klay Thompson -- who sent a chill through Toronto with 30 points through three quarters -- landed awkwardly in the fourth Thursday and tore his left anterior cruciate ligament.

It was a one-two punch to the gut that the shortchanged Warriors couldn’t survive, though not by the lack of trying. Motivated by those key injuries and also the final game ever inside the 53-year-old arena, the Warriors scrapped until the final seconds. Not until Stephen Curry’s hopeful 3-pointer missed was the threat from Golden State was over.

Suddenly, the Raptors would breathe easy. Those three 3-pointers from backup guard Fred VanVleet in the fourth quarter were not in vain. The steady hand of Kyle Lowry (26 points, 10 assists, three steals) was not wasted. And the 26 points from Pascal Siakam proved that a youngster could indeed stay composed and produce in the moment of truth.

Kawhi Leonard says he never gave up or doubted himself this season.

Game 6 ended the series, and while history might suggest the healthier team instead of the better team won this title, the Raptors did what champions do: They pounced on the opportunity and sealed the deal.

Most importantly, they put themselves in position for this to happen by doing what few others would.

Discouraged and irritated by the Raptors’ past playoff failures that followed successful regular seasons, Ujiri traded star guard and fan favorite DeMar Derozan for a then-devalued star (Leonard) who went rogue on the San Antonio Spurs.

Ujiri felt the need to apologize for acquiring Leonard after feedback in Toronto wasn’t totally supportive. Lowry was enraged by the trade of his close friend and wouldn’t speak to his own team president.

Imagine that now. Crazy, right?

Ujiri and Leonard were straightforward and frank in their initial discussions about their goal, their only goal.

For the first time ever, Toronto is home to the NBA championship.

“When I was there on my opening day meeting, I said I was focused on the now, and I wanted to make history here, and that’s what I did,” Leonard said. “I’m still playing basketball no matter what jersey I have on. I just came in with the right mindset: Let’s go out and win games. I texted Kyle the day later and said let’s go out and do something special, that I know your best friend left and I know you’re mad, but let’s make this thing work out. And here we are today.”

Leonard proved to be the singular star the Raptors needed to clear the final hurdle. He was a tornado through much of the playoffs, taking the big shots, excelling at both ends of the floor all while pushing the Raptors into a foreign month of the playoffs for them: June.