Similar to Raptors general manager Masai Ujiri acquiring Kawhi Leonard in a risky move, Ainge made a trade for two years of Kyrie Irving, hoping Irving could develop into the type of leader and consistent frontline player that would catapult the franchise into championship contention.

Ending a dynasty isn’t easy, and the Raptors still need to win one more, with their next chance Monday at Scotiabank Arena, but their success has to resonate painfully in Boston, where Danny Ainge, Brad Stevens, and the Celtics envisioned making a similar run.

OAKLAND, Calif. — Well, the Toronto Raptors are one win from the championship, a ridiculously difficult achievement considering the Golden State Warriors lined their roster with All-Stars with the express purpose of capturing a third consecutive NBA crown.


Of course, those hopes this season perished when the Celtics could never gain any chemistry, their talent never meshed, and they were thumped out of the Eastern Conference playoffs in the second round by the Milwaukee Bucks.

It was an embarrassing exit, exacerbated by the Raptors’ success. The Celtics beat Toronto twice during the regular season. They had the talent to compete with the Raptors, and their in-fighting, blurry roles, and lack of true leadership cost them a shot at a title.

Leonard, on the other hand, has turned into a consummate leader and teammate in Toronto. He may not say much, and may actually leave for another team in a few weeks, but Leonard came to Toronto to resuscitate his status as a top-five player and win a championship. Mission accomplished, and almost accomplished.

Like Ainge said this past week, Irving can’t accept all the blame for the Celtics’ failures. But his attempts at leadership were futile and the Celtics did a lot more talking than actually doing. The Raptors, meanwhile, have morphed into Leonard’s no-nonsense image.


After their 105-92 win over the Warriors in Game 4 Friday night, they calmly walked off to the locker room. (Meanwhile, their raucous fan base remained in their section chanting “We The North!” and singing “O Canada” for more than a half-hour following the game.)

“I think I’ve said it in many ways, and I think he’s really been . . . his demeanor has kind of taken a big part of our team,” Raptors point guard Kyle Lowry said of Leonard. “And we have some guys that are fiery and feisty, but we all kind of just stay level-headed and never get too up, never get too down.

“Serge [Ibaka] can tell you this team has just been a bunch of true professionals, guys that have just been continuing to work and work hard. And even our guys that aren’t playing, they come in there, they get shots up, they play three on three, they continue to be ready. That’s a testament to our team. And with the demeanor that we have, Kawhi definitely brought a lot to that, him and Danny [Green], they kind of definitely brought a lot to that.”

Building championship teams is not only acquiring the right talent but the right leaders and personalities. Players can’t have too many personal agendas, although it’s understandable that younger players want to advance their careers. But veterans have to attempt to manage those desires, and those younger players have to understand the team concept.

It seems the Raptors, as a whole, truly have understood their collective mission to win a championship, and that means personal sacrifice of playing time, roles, and luster.


“We put a lot of work and we believe in us, but one of the good things about us is our toughness, mind toughness,” Ibaka said. “We’ve been getting better and better each round, first round, second round, third round, and now we are here. So like Kyle said, we always try to be ready, even the guys who don’t play, they come out there, put in work. Even myself and Marc [Gasol]. When you play less minutes, you come the next day, you put in work. So I think that’s one of the things about us. Also, you see each night it’s different guys, so you always try to be ready.”

It appears the Raptors are everything the Celtics weren’t. After the season, Terry Rozier went on a media tour claiming he was the Celtic who sacrificed the most. There were other players who tried to mend the differences but couldn’t figure out how.

The lesson here for Ainge and Stevens is the quest is not always acquiring the most talent but acquiring talented players who play within the team concept, can accept adversity and remain focused, and are humble enough to understand the collective agenda is bigger than theirs.

Leonard may only be a Raptor for a few more days, but he’s definitely left an imprint on the organization without saying many words.


“Obviously he’s playing great and he’s lifted us a lot of times with big buckets or runs of buckets or just that settling bucket when the place is going crazy and he’ll calmly sink one to kind of quiet the crowd,” Raptors coach Nick Nurse said of Leonard. “But I think more than anything, just once we saw him early in the year, I think, again, your team’s vision of who they can become eventually changes. When we got him, I think we started passing the ball, our assists started going way up, we became the No. 1 3-point-shooting team in the league because of the extra passes and the contagious passing, etc., and I think our team again thought their sense of who they thought they could become went up.”