Top 5 reasons this Raptors season will go down as the best in team history:

NO RAPTORS TEAM HAS BEEN THIS FAR

The most obvious reason is also the biggest one: Until this year, Vince Carter missing in Philadelphia was the most consequential Raptors moment. Now, you’ve got beating Miami in Game 7 to get to the conference finals for the first time, beating Indiana in seven to win a best-of-seven for the first time to surpass that moment. You also have winning Game 4 (and maybe Game 3 as well) when the whole world seemed to have counted this team out. The Cavs had not lost a game and looked unbeatable. This group also set a regular-season wins record and a road wins mark.

ALL-STAR WEEKEND

It might have been cold, but the all-star weekend came to Canada for the first time and was seen as a success, despite the frigid temperatures. While the game left a little to be desired, it will always be remembered as Kobe Bryant’s all-star exit. People still recall Magic Johnson’s farewell in Orlando and we suspect the same will be said for this one. As well, Russell Westbrook did ridiculous things for a second year in a row. Meanwhile, the Saturday night skills competitions were widely regarded as the best ever, since every event was great and the dunkoff was thrilling, with Zach LaVine and Aaron Gordon defying gravity.

OFF-THE-COURT ACHIEVEMENTS

It wasn’t just what the players did, Masai Ujiri and his staff had a monster year. The state-of-the-art BioSteel opened in February to rave reviews and gave the club a home and a recruiting chip. Everything they need is there and Ujiri and crew have offices and a fancy war room to plan out strategy.

Meanwhile, despite a time crunch, the debut of Raptors 905 of the NBA Development League went off without a hitch. Having the team so close proved invaluable and allowed the likes of Norman Powell, Lucas Nogueira and Delon Wright to get the playing time necessary to make them viable options for the big team when needed. Powell, in particular, came a long way, in no small part because of his time with the 905.

DUAL ALL-STARS

Toronto’s never had two players combine to have as good a year as Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan. Lowry earned an All-NBA third team berth for his work and he should have made the second team, they were co-players of the month and player of the week multiple times and carried the squad. The team’s co-captains meshed well and stayed consistent all year. They also put aside huge struggles in certain playoff games to come through when needed most.

THERE IS ROOM TO GROW

Usually, the best team represents a peak. The 2001 Raptors, the previous high-water mark, only got worse as did the best of the Chris Bosh-led squads. But this group has a young core that is locked in long-term (Jonas Valanciunas, Terrence Ross, Cory Joseph) and it is expected DeRozan and Lowry will stick around as well, though we’ll see this summer and next. The No. 9 pick is on the way, along with three other first-rounders the next two years and youngsters like Powell already show promise. The flexibility is there to keep getting better.