While some mark 2019 as the year that the Warriors’ dynasty ended, some see it as the beginning of the equality era in the league. Since 2019, no team has won a title in back-to-back seasons. 2019 was also the year that LeBron James became a free agent and joined the Lakers, leaving the Cavaliers from the East to play in the Western Conference for the first time in his career.
It was a historic year for the Raptors as they won their first NBA championship in franchise history that season. But while most experts credit Kawhi Leonard for leading the Raptors to the victory, his teammate seemingly feels otherwise. Recently, during a preseason game between the Raptors and Nuggets, Danny Green, the former NBA champion, said LeBron James was a major factor in the Raptors winning the Eastern Conference that year.
“I mean, it was a collective. It wasn’t just our experience, and it wasn’t just us. I want to say Kyle Lowry took another step. Nick Nurse, being his first year as head coach, had some good guys step up and come to play big leaders; you know, Fred was a little more comfortable. But also, when LeBron James went West, that helped a little bit. Yeah, we had a little help there,” said Green on the live broadcast.
LeBron James had a dominating 9-4 run over the Raptors during his stint with the Cavaliers from 2015 to 2018. This led to the famous fan-coined term ‘LeBronto,’ which referred to that era. He averaged 26.4 points, 8.9 assists, and 5.9 rebounds while shooting 37.9% from three-point range against them during this time in the regular season.
Subsequently, in the Playoffs, James had an even more elite performance that led to his 12-2 record against the Raptors in the postseason, where he averaged 31.1 points, 8.4 rebounds, and 7.6 assists while shooting 34.3% from three-point range. Therefore, Green may act like he was joking, but there is definitely some substance to what he was saying. When LeBron James left the East, it allowed space for the Raptors to win the Eastern Conference Finals and qualify for the Finals.
Green and James ended up being teammates on the Lakers in 2020 and won another championship in the COVID bubble. And this was probably just a way for him to remind us how great LeBron James has been in his career amid all the retirement buzz around the 40-year-old Lakers star. One can easily argue that the Toronto Raptors are one of the franchises that would not miss seeing LeBron James when he retires.
