When Kyle Lowry stepped to the front of the stage at Nathan Phillips Square on Monday, he was wearing a throwback jersey bearing the name of the Raptors’ first-ever draft pick in 1995 — just in case anyone needed a reminder of how long Toronto has waited for this.

“First and foremost, I want to thank all the fans that we have out here. Give yourselves a round of applause, because we wouldn’t be doing this if it wasn’t for you guys,” said the team’s longest-serving player.

“We are now world champs together,” Lowry said to his teammates.

“It’s been a long time coming.”

A city ravenous to celebrate its first major professional sports title in more than a quarter century erupted in joy Monday, with fans jamming the downtown core for the Raptors’ NBA championship parade. A procession that was supposed to last two-and-a-half hours took more than five to arrive at a rally in Nathan Phillips Square as triumphant fans from across Canada swarmed the streets.

Without an official estimate, the size of the massive crowd could only be described as Titanosaurian.

The festivities were raucous but peaceful until gunshots were heard near Queen and Bay Sts. around 3:45 p.m., sending panicked onlookers running. Police later said that four people were injured, and three people were arrested.

Speeches were briefly halted, but resumed as officers responded to the incident. “I’m not happy that there was a shooting that occurred,” police Chief Mark Saunders said later, “but I’m also not going to let the shooting define this fantastic event that took place when we had so many people that were here that had such a great time.”

A few minutes earlier, Mayor John Tory awarded the team the key to the city, handing it to Raptors superstar and finals MVP Kawhi Leonard. A plane pulling a “King of the North” banner flew overhead and fans chanted, “MVP! MVP!”

“Kawhi — and maybe I should refer to you as Your Majesty — you already have the keys to our hearts,” Tory said.

“I’m not sure exactly what else this key opens, but you should know that every door in this city is open to you and to your teammates, and if you find one that doesn’t open, you call us and we’ll look after it.”

Tory also announced that Bremner Blvd. between Lake Shore Blvd. and York St. — site of fan cheer zone Jurassic Park — would be renamed “Raptors Way,” and unveiled its new red and white street sign.

The parade, which was supposed to begin at 10 a.m., was late to leave Exhibition Place. The delay seemed to have no effect on fans’ enthusiasm, a force strong enough to sustain its own microclimate of joy.

Raptors “superfan” Nav Bhatia led the procession as honorary parade marshal, whipping a towel around to hype up the crowd. He was followed by a vehicle carrying Raptors president Masai Ujiri and another carrying coach Nick Nurse.

The players themselves paraded in a convoy of five open-air, double-decker buses. They drank champagne, signed autographs and recorded the mayhem on their cellphones. Lowry cradled the Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy. Someone handed Leonard a house plant.

After crowds chanted “one more year” to Leonard, a plea for him to stay with the Raptors after he becomes a free agent on July 1, Lowry stood up and led another chant of “five more years,” getting a grin from his teammate.

Just after 2:20 p.m., nearly two hours after the team was scheduled to arrive at the rally, the people gathered in Nathan Phillips Square — many of whom had camped out overnight, and some of whom had flown from across the country — sang “O Canada.” The national anthem was followed by a flyby from the Royal Canadian Air Force’s Snowbirds demonstration team.

The Raptors finally reached Nathan Phillips Square by 3 p.m., and the ceremony began about 30 minutes later.

Premier Doug Ford was vigorously booed as he was introduced on the stage. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau mostly received cheers. Fans gave a rousing rendition of Queen’s “We Are The Champions” before the politicians began their speeches.

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As well as giving Leonard the key to the city, Tory made a personal appeal to the almost-free agent.

“You are family. You are one of us,” Tory said. “This city and this country love you, and we look forward to seeing you and the whole team back next year to do this again.”

Raptors team members took turns thanking fans and each other.

“This is a very special moment, not only for us as an organization but for the city, the country of Canada, and me personally,” said Fred VanVleet.

“You guys kill us when we lose. You killed us when we got swept two years in a row. So you better celebrate this s--t for the rest of the summer,” he said.

“I think it was Bono who said, ‘The world needs more Canada,’” coach Nick Nurse told the crowd. “The world just got it.”

Leonard, speaking last, got the biggest laugh.

“I just want to say thank you all for welcoming me here after the trade with open arms, man. It made my experience that much better. This group of guys let me do what I do on the floor. Coach Nick let me do what I do. And now we got a championship.

“Thank you, and like they said, enjoy this moment and have fun with it,” he said, adding a slow, exaggerated “ah-ha-ha-ha,” a reference to his laugh in his first news conference at a Raptor, which fans mocked for its goofiness.

(That was the same news conference in which Leonard described himself as a “fun guy,” a phrase that made its way onto many signs and shirts on Monday. Other signs read “Board Man Gets Parade,” a riff on Leonard’s college catchphrase “Board Man Gets Paid,” and “Started from Bargnani, now we’re here,” a reference to Andrea Bargnani, who played for the Raptors from 2006 to 2013.)

Fans responded by again cheering, “MVP! MVP! MVP!”

Then Drake took the stage to remind the fans how “few and far between” moments like these can be.

“So this is what I want you to do,” said the Raptors’ global ambassador. “I want you to turn to someone that you don’t know, and I want you to give them a hug.

“I want you to tell them congratulations, because we’re from the greatest city in the world, and we’re the NBA 2019 champions of the world.”

With files from Gilbert Ngabo, Jason Miller , and the Canadian Press

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