Kawhi Leonard says his goal in joining the Raptors was to bring the team to the NBA Finals and is proud of what he and his team accomplished. He also touched upon free agency. (2:03)

OAKLAND, Calif. -- The Toronto Raptors are NBA champions.

With a 114-110 victory over the Golden State Warriors in Game 6 of the NBA Finals on Thursday night, the Raptors capped a dramatic series filled with twists and turns, lifting the Larry O'Brien Trophy for the first time in franchise history.

In a game totally in keeping with the tense, taut nature of this best-of-seven affair, the Raptors stormed out to an early lead, thanks to the play of embattled point guard Kyle Lowry, who scored Toronto's first 11 points of the game. But the Warriors quickly responded and the teams went back and forth, racking up 14 lead changes in the first half alone.

Eventually, the Raptors managed to pull ahead, thanks to some clutch shotmaking by Fred VanVleet, whose 3-pointer from the top of the key with 3 minutes, 44 seconds left put Toronto ahead for good and sent the Raptors on their way to the title so many thought this team would never win.

Just a year ago, Toronto was reeling from being ousted from the playoffs for a third straight time by LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Raptors had fired their coach and were contemplating blowing up the roster. They traded for Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green in the summer, then added Marc Gasol at the trade deadline.

"It was a heck of a 12 months," Raptors coach Nick Nurse said. "I just try to take things as they come. Didn't look too far ahead. Obviously when we made some additions to the team, we thought we could be good, but we had no idea what the health status was and all those things.

"You just got to go take the guys you got and go play and manage it the best you can."

The Raptors -- through a combination of timing and circumstance -- formed the best defensive unit Golden State has seen during its run to five straight NBA Finals. They thwarted the Warriors, blunted their runs, stymied the kinds of surges that have overwhelmed opponents in so many games.

That was always especially true at Oracle Arena, where Golden State has been so dominant during this dynasty. And yet, with Thursday night's win, Toronto swept all four games it played in this building this season -- the most obvious example of just how different this Raptors team is from the ones that came before it.

"They're a fantastic basketball team," Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. "Great defensively, share the ball, play a beautiful style, a lot of great two-way players and a lot of veteran players who have been in this league contributing for a long time, so I'm very happy for them.

"Winning a championship is the ultimate in this league, and they have got a lot of guys who have earned this. ... They are a worthy champion."