Incredibly obvious statement alert: It’s better to make the playoffs than miss them.

Forget what you’ve read about the only path to NBA success passing through the lottery—that’s like throwing a dart from the nosebleeds and trying to hit the bull’s eye on a dartboard at centre court. Just ask any fan from Minnesota or Charlotte: Getting a high pick doesn’t help much if your team squanders it. And unless a Hakeem Olajuwon or LeBron James is in the draft class, history says they’ll likely do just that.

Yet it was just a scant few months ago that Raptors fans (and media) were calling for the team to tank. A shot at a top pick in the most coveted draft class in years was as good an outcome as any outcome—the thought went—especially with a new GM eyeing every possible trade.

But a funny thing happened on the way to the Forum (well, the Lakers’ new home, actually, Staples Center). When Rudy Gay was traded, this team started playing together, and since that fateful day, they’ve managed to rack up the best record in the East.

Today the Toronto Raptors have a playoff spot as good as locked up, and despite what you may have heard (or thought yourself), that’s been the best-case scenario for this team since day one.

It’s a simple concept, really: young players benefit from playing meaningful games. There are countless examples throughout the league, guys like James Harden, Serge Ibaka and Steph Curry. Take a look at the Raptors’ roster and the pieces that are locked in long-term. DeMar DeRozan, Jonas Valanciunas and Terrence Ross are all under 25 and proving their worth this season as bona fide long-term building blocks.

“I think back,” says former Raptors all-star and current ESPN analyst Antonio Davis, “to all those times when we did make the playoffs in Toronto and how great that atmosphere was to play in. They have a serious opportunity here to do that again and hopefully people can see that. You want fans thinking ‘Let’s not overlook what we have in front of us while we’re busy looking for something else.’”

Yet there was a worry early in the year that a trip to the post-season and the possibility of being swept in four games (as they were in their last playoff appearance, versus Dwight Howard and the Orlando Magic six years ago) would somehow be a setback; a fear that the Raptors could become a perennial bridesmaid, like, say, the Atlanta Hawks. It’s dissipated slightly given the team’s recent tear, which is a good thing, because the logic never really added up.

Don’t you think a guy like Valanciunas is going to benefit simply from experiencing the pressures and intensity of playoff basketball? Do you really think that losing year after year is what made DeRozan a better player? It’s not. DeRozan’s growth this season, what should be his first as an all-star, is a testament to his hunger to get better. Corny as it may sound, he had every excuse to get comfortable with losing.

It’s something Davis saw happen time and time again over his career. “It’s always the danger when your young players are losing year after year,” he explains. “I’ve seen young guys on losing teams be down 10 late in the fourth and they’ve adopted the mindset of ‘Oh well, we lost, let’s pack it in and get ready for tomorrow.’ You learn how to win just like you can learn how to lose.”

For now, thankfully, it looks like the Raptors will spend the rest of their season playing meaningful basketball, jostling for playoff positioning and home court advantage. And even if those aforementioned fears are realized and the Raps are unceremoniously bounced from the first round (though given the rest of the East, they should have a strong shot at advancing), that would still be a crucial learning opportunity for the team’s young core.

“Just look at history, man,” Davis says. “I was there when the Raptors made the playoffs for the first time as a franchise. And you know what happened in that first playoff run? We got swept by the Knicks. But we built on that.”

The next season, the Raptors beat New York in the first round, before taking Allen Iverson and the Sixers the full seven, coming within one shot of reaching the Conference Finals. As Davis explains, “It’s a process in the NBA, and the fact is you need to take those steps forward to get better.”