2019 NBA Finals

The 2019 NBA Finals was the championship series of the National Basketball Association (NBA)’s 2018–19 season and conclusion of this year’s playoffs. In the best-of-seven playoff series held from May 30 through June 13, 2019, the Eastern Conference champion Toronto Raptors defeated the Western Conference champion Golden State Warriors, four games to two, making the franchise its first NBA championship in addition to the first win by a group based outside the USA. In his first year playing with the Raptors after being acquired via a trade throughout the off-season, Kawhi Leonard was named the NBA Finals Most Valuable Player (MVP) for the second time in his profession.
This was the first NBA Finals appearance for the Raptors, along with the league’s first finals with matches played outside of the United States. Home-court benefit was awarded to Toronto, who finished the regular season with one more win (58–24) than Golden State (57–25). This was the first time in five consecutive NBA Finals appearances the then-two-time defending NBA-champion Warriors didn’t possess home-court advantage. Also for the first time over the previous five postseasons, the Warriors and the Cleveland Cavaliers did not match in the tournament round. This was the very first finals since 2010 not to include LeBron James, who played at the past eight finals together with Cleveland and the Miami Heat.