couple of errors in the edit, right before 56 minutes you play the same clip twice and the sound balancing/mixing in the sleeping giant section is really bad, to the point where I can barely hear you speak
Kawhi Leonard; great 2-way player at his peak who won 2 rings, 2 finals MVPs, 2 DPOY Awards, made multiple All-Star and All-Defense Teams, yet unfortunately has a durability rating of below 50.
@Dimezprod That 2017 MVP race was close. He had a very good case of winning it for sure. Elite on both ends of the floor and the Spurs were a top-seeded team.
Kawhi's game winner was already going to be legendary from just the circumstances. Self created shot with 4s left on the clock in game 7 of a playoff series, but the fact that it rattles in makes it one of the most absurdly hype moments I've ever seen in any sport.
For me top 3 easily. The stakes, under 1 second ball release, the silent crowd waiting the ball bounces and finally erupted when it went in. Also it is game 7 do or die.
@@lionheartzcs2 Its legacy has only grown given what happened next, too. The Raptors defeated the Warriors in the Finals. The 76ers were forced to choose between two disgruntled stars: Simmons and Butler and backed the wrong horse. Kawhi ended Philadelphia’s “process” right when they had their best shot for it all to come to fruition.
@@Justfrank_0 that's true but they were both quote serious. A torn Achilles for KD AND a torn ACL for Klay really just brought down the mood for me, and I wasn't even really rooting for either team
@@mr.crispyfriedchicken3946Klay played in 5 of 6 games they weren’t winning with a healthy Klay anyway maybe if Durant was healthy but GSW got plenty injury help including the “Zaza incident” on Kawhi or he beats them in 2017 w Spurs
That roster was DEEP. Serge Ibaka, Fred VanVleet, Norm Powell, and OG Anunoby, all coming off the bench. That team the year after was arguably better (and my favorite Raptors team ever) with Siakam making the all-star leap, Nick Nurse winning COY, a Canadian professional sports record 15-game win streak, and having the 2nd best record in the NBA before COVID. Lost in 7 in the ECSF to the Celtics, with most of our players not having access to any basketball facilities during the shutdown.Would love to see a deep dive into that year
@@lorddj9910 you mean like he was that year? The reason the clippers didn't make the wcf is because kawhi actually choked in game 7 against the nuggets. And you also have to talk about bubble Murray and pandemic P. It's fully possible they at least return to the finals with kawhi and I'd give them better odds of beating LA than the heat
You mean the super team where both KD and Klay were injured and not playing all the games. Yeah right. Keep dreaming. Had they been playing the Raptors would have been toasted. Context matters.
@cotati76 Nah they actually ain't winning if kd is playing.Klay got hurt during the last games Games 6.So Games 1-5 prove klay don't effect match.During the regular season,toronto beat a healthy warrior.So warrior without kd is better during 2019
@@CarsonChuan you're on drugs if you think that the warriors were better without KD. In a 7 game series, having a healthy KD would've given the warriors the edge. You're forgetting that Kawhi was banged up by that point. Also if I remember correctly one of the regular season games that the raptors won Curry was injured and KD went for 50. Anyways, it's all hypothetical, but saying that any team is better without KD is a ridiculous statement, let alone a team that won two championships with KD as their best player.
This hurts, man... Kawhi is one of my favorite players of all time. Loved his style of play. Sucks when injuries interrupt legacies. Was a gut punch seeing he couldn't get through Olympic training
As a raptors fan it means a lot to have people like rusty appreciating this team for what it was. It was miraculous, but such a special time in my life that I’ll never forget. Being in the city during that championship run was electric
You'll be made of glass too if you pushing your body to such high levels of hardship....being an athlete is not easy which is partly why they get paid millions to put their bodies on the line every time they play meaning risking injuries, an injury can lead the way to more injuries and some athletes may not easily bounce back as the injury can never fully heal.
word, i introduced my friend to the nba by watching the 2019 raptors together and i could not express to them enough how crazy it was that they won lol
@@marecare223 What is stupid about it? As a European I used to watch NBA in the 90s rooting for everyone, but MJ - my big brother was a Bulls fan, so it was natural. Then after a long break i accidentally tuned into the 2016 finals starting from game 6 and I was blown away. I was rooting for the Cavs, not that I knew anyone, but I am a sucker for underdog stories. Still that didnt make me return as a fan. 3 years later due to some circumstances I watched the entire playoffs, without knowing anyone, nor having a favorite team. I watched whatever was on TV. The first time I saw the Raptors was game 7 vs Philly and I was rooting for the 76ers and then for the Bucks to get revenge. Later, there was a natural dislike against the GSW juggernaut so the finals was the first time I was rooting for Kawhi and became a fan. I have never missed a single Clippers game since. So for me, it wasnt even a season run, just half of a playoff run that got me back into the NBA.
Fun fact: The Raptors, the only NBA team in the country of Canada, has more NBA titles in the past 30+ years than the 7 NHL teams that are in Canada put together. For context: The last Canadian NHL team to win the Stanley Cup was The Montreal Canadiens in 1993. The Raptors were established in the 94-95 season.
@@kurgo_ It's the truth. As Canadians and in Canada hockey is ubiquitous, omnipresent, and everywhere. Wayne Gretzky said it the best when he was Theo Von's podcast. "Raptors and Jays are Canada's team, everyone in Canada will cheer for them. But hockey is Canada's sport." But Wayne Gretzky fails to mention the Stanley Cup drought of Canada.
There's a generation of kids who will grow up and not know Kawhi before he went to the Clippers and they are going to think he's a bum. That's depressing.
I get what you mean, I had to deal with bandwagon fans who latched onto the Yankees in the 2000s constantly talking trash about Bernie Williams. They only knew of the guy after his 2003 injury and decline which tells you enough.
He has his moments on Clippers went beast mode in 2021 playoffs and regular season last year honestly I wonder if he doesn’t have 1 more run in him will see if he could play in this years playoffs
I think it was worth noting that the young, up-and-coming Bucks team was up 2-0 on the Raptors, and Kawhi led his team to 4 straight victories afterwards. It may have been implied by the breakdown you did of the games, but being down 2-0 against a 60 win team who had the season MVP, in the conference finals and not only coming back, but dominating the rest of the series is just another amazing mark in this improbable run.
Mans made a point so profound he had to repeat it twice 55:20 and 55:40 😂 No but seriously great vid!!! Can’t wait for part two. Kawhi is probably the most interesting “uninteresting” player the league has seen in recent years. His entire career is a wild roller coaster ride for sure. Funniest thing about him is that he’s a dynasty killer. Stopped the Heat and Warriors from three-peating. My lore for Kawhi is he’s from the future and gets sent back in time just to restore balance to the league and stop super teams 😂
Being a Raptors fan since day 1 kawhi really showed this whole fan base the difference between what a superstar can do vs what an Allstar can do for your team. That whole playoffs run was absolutely the greatest run I've ever watched. He took the team on his back straight to the chip
15:00. Chuck Swirsky (raptor broadcasting legend) would say “Onions, baby, onions!” When a raptor would make a big shot, was sort of like his tag line. Definitely strange when heard out of context, but as a kid and a die hard raptor fan it was music to my ears. Your content is underrated af ignore the hate on dis one
I remember reading somewhere that he especially used it after big clutch plays, and it was his family-friendly way of saying "he has big balls." No clue if that was true, can anyone confirm? I always assumed it meant the shot/player was gonna make the other team cry but I kinda like the big balls explanation better.
The Reason Toronto was so hyped for the Raptors was because their favorite team "The Maple Leafs", haven't made the finals since 1967. They didn't make it out of the 1st round since 2003 back then. This was an actual compitant organization that had success in the playoffs as apposed to THE team in Toronto.
Old school Raptor fan here. Chuck Swirsky always used to say “Onions, baby onions!” And when the game was decided, he would say “bring out the salami and cheese”. No idea why, but it’s seared into my memory from the late 90’s/early 2000s.
I'll never forget Cowherd put Kawhi top 5 all time if he never played another game after this chip. To his credit he was pretty right about the never playing another game part
As a Toronto native I can honestly this documentary was a masterpiece and I appreciate the layers and how deeply you covered so many of the narratives that surrounded one of the biggest sports moments in the country history and a truely culturally defining moment that we greatly appreciate when flowers are given👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽
I know a video like this is a MASSIVE undertaking, but having such glaring audio issues in the first 10 minutes of the video makes me think no one actually gave it a once over before publishing. Really want to see Rusty and his team improve and make the quality content that I know they can but it's the little things like that they need to improve at. The audio mixing as a whole was pretty rough throughout the entire watch Also big props to whoever did the stat/trade graphics at the 18min-ish mark. They look extremely retro to fit the vibe but super clean at the same time
Yeah, it all depends on how you view it. DeRozan is clearly not good enough to lead a team to a championship right. And if he wasn't such a great guy and an inspiring story who loved us and we loved him back, this wouldn't be a story. If he was like Rudy Gay we would have similar memories of him. He elevated himself, which is what I mean. That's to his credit, of course. And shows how much character matters. Any other player with his level of skill being traded is not a big deal, and getting the guy back we got is crazy. So I guess yeah it was sad to see him go, but that's the game.
@@Jay_dracocan’t like a player if they aren’t an all time great? You must not like basketball very much. Ik it’s probably hard for you to comprehend but not everyone’s favorite player is bron or Steph.
Alright, time to make the Kawhi Raptors Trade Tree. It's very interesting. Spurs getting a lot out of the trade and maybe they will get some good quality players to build around Wemby.
It was so surreal when we got Kawhi, such a magical season…Fun Fact in the 2011 draft Raptors actually wanted to draft Kawhi and tried to trade down in draft. We should of just drafted him anyway but at the time they also couldnt resist adding jonas Valanciunas who we thought would be our center of the future after not having a true center since Rasho nesterovic. Historically we always been horrible at Center so i dont even blame them for drafting JV. Funny how we ended up trading him for Marc Gasol tho who probably is our best center of all time even though he was on the tail end of his career to complete our title run.
He had to develop in San Antonio under Pop to become the Kawhi we know. Don't think he would've reached his potential if he was drafted anywhere else. We forget that he was a defensive specialist with a suspect jumper and a loose handle coming out of college. Even when he won that first chip with the Spurs he was a 3 and D player that scored most of his buckets as a spot up shooter. Kawhi would've likely been a career role player if he was drafted anywhere besides the spurs. Whether you like them or not, the Spurs are the best franchise at drafting and developing talent.
Kawhi was the best player in the NBA, impact - wise, from the second half of the 15-16 season up until about 2020. Everyone watching Spurs games semi regularly already knew that, there was nobody who would change the game more, on both sides of the floor. I watched every Spurs regular season game in 15-16. He was never beaten by his man, not even once, without a screen. Even after a screen, he would either blitz through it or trail his man at close distance with those long arms, nobody stood a chance against him.
26:55 if you have never seen the Game of Zones clip about this, it is one of the most well-aged pieces of media I've ever seen. "King James is gone from our path, but he is also gone from our excuses". ua-cam.com/video/cTU8iRdwfGc/v-deo.htmlsi=4osQj-m7OzM1jjFx
I truly believe he has been a better player in all of his years as a Clipper than he was as Raptor. He is more efficient, more engaged defensively, a far better playmaker, and takes more threes in a Clipper uniform.
Man, let me tell you it's been a minute since I saw a Rusty video in my timeline. Then I'm sitting here saying to myself Rusty looks so different now! "Who Rusty look like?" Then ten minutes into it, I got it! MIKE SHINODA from Linkin Park! Wooooooow! 😮
There is so much misinformation around how Spurs treated Kawhi. When him and his uncle were at creating nuisance around it. The diagnosis made by Spurs medical staff was true and correct. I hope his uncle is happy.
So the thing about Vince Carter "saving the Raptors" is...not true. Like it's flatout a myth. What saved the Raptors was collective ownership. For context, the group that owns the Raptors, MLSE, owns the Toronto Maple Leafs. Both the Leafs and Raptors played under the same roof, the Air Canada Centre (Now Scotiabank Arena) and thus MLSE pulled a clever move when ticket sales dipped in 1997-98: When they sold tickets, they sold them for the ACC, not the Leafs or Raptors individually. So if you wanted to see the Leafs, you had to pay for the Raptors too. And if you know anything about how popular the Leafs were and still are...well you can see why the ticket sales picked up in 98. Getting Vince definitely helped make Canada a basketball nation but it's not "the reason the Raptors are still in Canada" like the line oft repeated. That's synergy the Grizzlies did not have with the Vancouver Canucks and even with the Grizzlies, then-commisioner David Stern wanted to keep the team in Vancouver. Given Vancouver is one of the biggest cities in North America and Memphis is...not, you can see why. An aside but his exit and the animosity that sprung from it has a lot to do with the way Vince forced his way off the team. Allegedly tipping off an opposing team to the Raptors play, assaulting his coach (Not an allegation, his mom and teammate Jalen Rose have talked about this incident multiple times) and in general slumping in Toronto. One only needs look at his final season's stats with the Raptors vs. the start of his Nets tenure.
Dude, we were nothing before Vince. He left us with a bad taste in our mouths and lost his motor but there is absolutely no denying we chased him outta town. Remember, he resigned with the Raptors. But his string of injuries and our bad team building made him want to leave. He didn’t do it gracefully and he wore that shame the rest of his career. But it’s delusional to pretend he didn’t change Canadian basketball forever. There are exponentially more Canadians year after year entering the league since his legacy was first crafted. He was Kevin Durant’s favourite player.
I dont know anything about Toronto but I was so happy for them with this team. Their fans were like totally rabid and I just felt happy for them. Ok now Im gonna say something that might be crazy. Kawhi's game reminds me the most of MJ's out of anyone. I am not comparing skill levels! But just like this guy says himself, they both were soooo smart on the court and could always slow down the game and take control.
I like this video because it shows the Raptors shouldn't be punished for KD getting hurt, and Klay late in Game 6. Raptors lost OG Anunoby for the entirety of the playoffs, they also could have lost a starter for a series but had the bench that could fill in the holes left by a star getting injured. The Raptors simply built a better team than the 2019 Warriors, not better than 2017 but better than a team that couldn't afford to lose any of their top dogs in the Finals. The Raps also won both regular season games against the Warriors that year which helped them secure home court advantage in the Finals, and won ALL THREE road games at Oracle to win the title, which is the most underrated achievement of all.
I still cannot believe that amazing Warriors team who only had Klay Thompson, KD, Iggy, and Kevon Looney injured either throughout the series or parts of it. I still don't know how they managed to do it.
there's no way to communicate how high the vibes were all across canada during this run. i made sure to savour it because as a raptors fan i know i'll never experience it again. i was sad to see kawhi leave just like i was sad to see vince leave, but i completely understood because he over-delivered in every sense.
I mean this as constructive criticism, but the editing wasn't the best in this one. Aside from the obvious audio issue when Rusty is talking at the same or lower level as the game call, the music during the majority of the video is too loud. The content of the video is good, and I don't mean this as hate, but hopefully something to adjust next time.
@@packers071 It was noticeable but only lasted a few seconds. There was also a few sections of the video where the audio reset back and replayed a sentence again, and a couple mis-speaks left in as well. Overall it wasnt bad just not up to the same standard as his previous longer format videos. Still a great vid though for sure.
Nah the most unlikely finals run has to be the 2011 Mavs 2011 Mavs went through 49-34 Portland Traillblazers (Prime LaMarcus Aldridge & a declining yet still pretty good Brandon Roy) 57-25 Los Angeles Lakers (Prime Kobe Bryant, Prime Pau Gasol) ***Defending Champions*** 55-27 Oklahoma City Thunder (Prime Kevin Durant, Prime Russell Westbrook & Prime James Harden) 58-24 Miami Heat (Prime LeBron James, Prime Dwayne Wade & Prime Chris Bosh) The Mavs beat all of these teams with 1 player that averaged more than 16PPG, 1 player that averaged over 4.1APG & 1 player that averaged over 7RPG in the 2011 season. This team not only beat the defending champion with one of if not the best player in the league at the time (Kobe) but they swept them.
I was caught off guard seeing you rock the Harry Potter glasses Rusty. I've been watching you for years and I'm not sure when you started wearing them but I find them hilarious.
oh rusty, making me feel like I earned my unc status. Chuck Swirsky's big call was Onions, baby onions, along with Salami & Cheese. That was his Mike Breen's bang.
Kawhi should’ve signed a 1and1 in Toronto. And you knew he was thinking that with that pi$$ed off look on his face in game 7 against Denver in the bubble. He would’ve made another conference finals and likely another finals seeing as Toronto was literally a shot away from them with Pascal averaging 14 pts per game.
Its so strange to me he just went to Toronto for one year and was the best player in the league for a few years then all the sudden hes on a different team after bringing Toronto a ship lmao
this video has a lot audio editing problems where the music is too loud compared to rusty’s voice and there’s a lot of the music that makes the video feel overproduced and less cinematic especially when your trying to be story teller. It makes the video feel a little flat and uninteresting. No hate at all just pointing it out 7:02 9:20-9:29 30:55-33:14 48:00-50:00 53:00-54:30 1:03:00-1:03:30
Witnessing this run as a lifelong raptors fan during highschool was insane, considering that there has not been a canadian team winning the Stanley Cup.or world series since "93 and the MLS considered a subpar compared to its European counterpart, it was great to see Canada on top of the sports world again. Really wished Kawhi run it back, atleast for one more season.
As a Raptors fan, I have to say that buzzer beater from Kawhi against the Sixers was like the best juju ever lol. When Jimmy Butler gets the ball and scores in transition after Kawhi's missed free throw, you can hear a woman in the crowd scream like bloody murder like a horror movie. That Vince Carter missed game 7 shot back in the day was living on in that moment. And overall I feel as a fanbase, we had never really seen such overcoming of adversity on the biggest stage and actually having a team that you could concretely envision them coming through on top when all seems lost. The ensuing Bucks series felt like the kind of thing where coming back from down 2 against MVP Giannis would have felt like a more desperate hope. It definitely meant so much to us as a fanbase AND as a country. clearly because we won a chip, but it also put the seal of approval on our winning culture to that point, even if Kawhi left. But I personally feel that game 7 shot against the Sixers was what made us as a fanbase able to raise our collective energy and perspective to believe a franchise that, as you said, "shouldn't win a championship", would. With Masai still running things, hopefully we can get back to being a solid team and have that vision again soon. Great doc bruh!
I love your channel and am also a daily viewer of your second channel and love that as well, so please take my comment for what it is: constructive (hopefully) feedback from someone who's done some video editing. There are a lot of points throughout the video where you seem to rephrase what you planned on saying but didnt cut out the first take, so we got a bit of repetition in there. I think it happened twice in this video and I've seen it in some of your other long-form content as well. Also there was a moment (when we were talking about the 2013 spurs I think) where I definitely could not hear you because the game audio got left in and completely drowned you out for about 6 seconds before it faded out. In all you make a good product with these documentaries that show great potential and that I love to watch to learn about specific points in basketball history and trends in the league. You're an excellent narrator and the information is on point with both delivery and pacing, but these videos could be even better with a slightly more careful eye for the editing! Again, I love your videos, please keep it up ❤❤
It's so poetic that where Vince missed a buzzer beating game 7 winner against the 76ers, Kawhi would actually make that exact kind of bucket on the way to a championship.
The only thing I hate about 2019 Raptors is Klay injury If it wasn't for that injury we would have witnessed game 7 still All Star Klay Thompson and greatest game 6 Klay performance ever
40:09 That YEEEEEEEESHHHHH has me laughing so hard, I just keep replaying it for endless joy and an intense ab workout. How many takes did you do to get this so perfect?!
Coincidentally, I was looking at their roster on Basketball Reference and thinking about what a cool bunch of guys this team had on their sole championship run.
This is the deepest dive I've ever seen on this run. Thank you. It's sad Leonard didn't stick around. They really had built the perfect team around him and that team, even without Leonard, was killing it up until the pandemic. Siakam was amazing...and then apparently during the pandemic he didn't play or practice and when they came back he was a shell of the player he'd been for the playoff run in the bubble. Too bad. From all the NBA fortune in the world to the worst fortune in the NBA the following season was concussive for fans to say the least.
![Regretting The Kawhi Era: The True Curse Of The LA Clippers [DEEP DIVE]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/-UCA5nx-VKE/mqdefault.jpg)
![Regretting The Kawhi Era: The True Curse Of The LA Clippers [DEEP DIVE]](/img/tr.png)
![The Rise & Fall Of NBA Superteams [Deep Dive]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/5qg_l4R6hmc/mqdefault.jpg)
Click Here to get 80% off the whole site when signing up to be VIP! fabletics.com/RustyBuckets #fableticspartner @fabletics
couple of errors in the edit, right before 56 minutes you play the same clip twice and the sound balancing/mixing in the sleeping giant section is really bad, to the point where I can barely hear you speak
also you start reading a line, stop, and start over around 66 minutes
and at 67:45
Were many segments of this video meant to be cut, or do I just have deja vu? This guy says things twice... a lot.
0
Kawhi Leonard; great 2-way player at his peak who won 2 rings, 2 finals MVPs, 2 DPOY Awards, made multiple All-Star and All-Defense Teams, yet unfortunately has a durability rating of below 50.
Should’ve had an mvp
@Dimezprod That 2017 MVP race was close. He had a very good case of winning it for sure. Elite on both ends of the floor and the Spurs were a top-seeded team.
@Dimezprod no he shouldn't
Crazy right now compared him and kd career 2 rings 2 different paths kawhi will be remembered within a unique category 💯 🏀
@@jand1144 He brought Toronto a championship when Derozan and Vince Carter could not
Kawhi's game winner was already going to be legendary from just the circumstances. Self created shot with 4s left on the clock in game 7 of a playoff series, but the fact that it rattles in makes it one of the most absurdly hype moments I've ever seen in any sport.
4 bounces on the rim is crazy.
definitely, it helps that it eventually leads to a championship too, making it alot more unforgettable
@@smz257As a raptors fan, these days hurt, but I come back to the kawhi shot on average at least 8-12 a year
And was also a travel 😂
@@RCTricking shhhhhh
His game winner vs the sixers is a top 5 shot in NBA history and one of the best sports highlights of the last century
For me top 3 easily. The stakes, under 1 second ball release, the silent crowd waiting the ball bounces and finally erupted when it went in. Also it is game 7 do or die.
@@lionheartzcs2 Its legacy has only grown given what happened next, too.
The Raptors defeated the Warriors in the Finals.
The 76ers were forced to choose between two disgruntled stars: Simmons and Butler and backed the wrong horse.
Kawhi ended Philadelphia’s “process” right when they had their best shot for it all to come to fruition.
Top 1
@@Paulo_97 Probably second to “the shot” MJ took in 1998, which will be so hard to beat. Eclipses all other shots I think.
@@jonathanyoyoonot a do or die cuz the game was tied but the 76ers were def winning if they went to OT
A breath of fresh air after 4 straight Cavs/Warriors reruns
Idk I was super disappointed, not because Lebron wasn't there but just because of all those super serious injuries
@@mr.crispyfriedchicken3946 they weren’t many as ur making em seem. Only KD, Klay was at the end of the series. Those finals were goated
@@Justfrank_0 that's true but they were both quote serious. A torn Achilles for KD AND a torn ACL for Klay really just brought down the mood for me, and I wasn't even really rooting for either team
@@mr.crispyfriedchicken3946 fair
@@mr.crispyfriedchicken3946Klay played in 5 of 6 games they weren’t winning with a healthy Klay anyway maybe if Durant was healthy but GSW got plenty injury help including the “Zaza incident” on Kawhi or he beats them in 2017 w Spurs
That roster was DEEP. Serge Ibaka, Fred VanVleet, Norm Powell, and OG Anunoby, all coming off the bench. That team the year after was arguably better (and my favorite Raptors team ever) with Siakam making the all-star leap, Nick Nurse winning COY, a Canadian professional sports record 15-game win streak, and having the 2nd best record in the NBA before COVID. Lost in 7 in the ECSF to the Celtics, with most of our players not having access to any basketball facilities during the shutdown.Would love to see a deep dive into that year
They would have repeated if Leonard returned no doubt
@@seanjjpaulThat’s if Kawhi would even be on the court
They could've repeated without the COVID layoff with Kawhi
The spurs taking jakob and Demar over pascal and OG is still to this day insane
@@lorddj9910 you mean like he was that year? The reason the clippers didn't make the wcf is because kawhi actually choked in game 7 against the nuggets.
And you also have to talk about bubble Murray and pandemic P.
It's fully possible they at least return to the finals with kawhi and I'd give them better odds of beating LA than the heat
That season was a fever dream. The superteam warriors actually losing. Kawhi actually being healthy and carrying the Raptors to a championship
You mean the super team where both KD and Klay were injured and not playing all the games. Yeah right. Keep dreaming. Had they been playing the Raptors would have been toasted. Context matters.
@@cotati76 It was 6 years ago brother get over it
@cotati76 Nah they actually ain't winning if kd is playing.Klay got hurt during the last games Games 6.So Games 1-5 prove klay don't effect match.During the regular season,toronto beat a healthy warrior.So warrior without kd is better during 2019
@@CarsonChuan you're on drugs if you think that the warriors were better without KD. In a 7 game series, having a healthy KD would've given the warriors the edge. You're forgetting that Kawhi was banged up by that point. Also if I remember correctly one of the regular season games that the raptors won Curry was injured and KD went for 50. Anyways, it's all hypothetical, but saying that any team is better without KD is a ridiculous statement, let alone a team that won two championships with KD as their best player.
73-9 for a reason idk lol
This hurts, man... Kawhi is one of my favorite players of all time. Loved his style of play. Sucks when injuries interrupt legacies. Was a gut punch seeing he couldn't get through Olympic training
This has quite literally been the greatest week in my UA-cam watching history, thank you for the addition oxidized pail
What else u been on??
@ Jon Bois, foolish baseball, bootleg football pod
@@tracedykes4411what did jonboi put out?
As a raptors fan it means a lot to have people like rusty appreciating this team for what it was. It was miraculous, but such a special time in my life that I’ll never forget. Being in the city during that championship run was electric
Kahwi = this generation’s Bill Walton.
Transcendent two-way skill.
Made of glass.
lmao
Thank God he never went to the Blazers. Their medical staff is ass: Bill Walton, Dame, Sabonis' dad, Oden, etc. All horribly mismanaged health wise.
You'll be made of glass too if you pushing your body to such high levels of hardship....being an athlete is not easy which is partly why they get paid millions to put their bodies on the line every time they play meaning risking injuries, an injury can lead the way to more injuries and some athletes may not easily bounce back as the injury can never fully heal.
@ Then how come every single NBA player doesn’t have their injury record?
Nailed it. Bill Walton's "healthy" season with the Blazers is the season they won the championship.
Literally the 2019 season run made me get into the NBA
Welcome. The shot in Philly was crazy
Thats so stupid
word, i introduced my friend to the nba by watching the 2019 raptors together and i could not express to them enough how crazy it was that they won lol
@@marecare223 What is stupid about it?
As a European I used to watch NBA in the 90s rooting for everyone, but MJ - my big brother was a Bulls fan, so it was natural. Then after a long break i accidentally tuned into the 2016 finals starting from game 6 and I was blown away. I was rooting for the Cavs, not that I knew anyone, but I am a sucker for underdog stories. Still that didnt make me return as a fan. 3 years later due to some circumstances I watched the entire playoffs, without knowing anyone, nor having a favorite team. I watched whatever was on TV. The first time I saw the Raptors was game 7 vs Philly and I was rooting for the 76ers and then for the Bucks to get revenge. Later, there was a natural dislike against the GSW juggernaut so the finals was the first time I was rooting for Kawhi and became a fan.
I have never missed a single Clippers game since.
So for me, it wasnt even a season run, just half of a playoff run that got me back into the NBA.
Nba Been ass after loll
Fun fact: The Raptors, the only NBA team in the country of Canada, has more NBA titles in the past 30+ years than the 7 NHL teams that are in Canada put together.
For context: The last Canadian NHL team to win the Stanley Cup was The Montreal Canadiens in 1993.
The Raptors were established in the 94-95 season.
I hate that when you wrote 30+ years I thought "man, they haven't won anything since the 70s?"
@@kurgo_ It's the truth. As Canadians and in Canada hockey is ubiquitous, omnipresent, and everywhere. Wayne Gretzky said it the best when he was Theo Von's podcast. "Raptors and Jays are Canada's team, everyone in Canada will cheer for them. But hockey is Canada's sport." But Wayne Gretzky fails to mention the Stanley Cup drought of Canada.
11:35 as a canadian this is the funniest graphic ive ever seen 😂 its like he got traded to the bermuda triangle
😭😭😭
There's a generation of kids who will grow up and not know Kawhi before he went to the Clippers and they are going to think he's a bum. That's depressing.
There’s so much you don’t know.
I get what you mean, I had to deal with bandwagon fans who latched onto the Yankees in the 2000s constantly talking trash about Bernie Williams. They only knew of the guy after his 2003 injury and decline which tells you enough.
he is a bum!
@@tiktoksuperfan He is now.
He has his moments on Clippers went beast mode in 2021 playoffs and regular season last year honestly I wonder if he doesn’t have 1 more run in him will see if he could play in this years playoffs
I think it was worth noting that the young, up-and-coming Bucks team was up 2-0 on the Raptors, and Kawhi led his team to 4 straight victories afterwards. It may have been implied by the breakdown you did of the games, but being down 2-0 against a 60 win team who had the season MVP, in the conference finals and not only coming back, but dominating the rest of the series is just another amazing mark in this improbable run.
I love you rusty. It’s my birthday I’m low key drunk asf but thank you for dropping a video about my favorite team on my 18th.
Happy cake day dude
happy birthday bro
Low key drunk asf. lol.
Narratively Kawhi is the best dark horse the NBA has ever had or at least he was. Injuries just ruin so much
Mans made a point so profound he had to repeat it twice 55:20 and 55:40 😂
No but seriously great vid!!! Can’t wait for part two. Kawhi is probably the most interesting “uninteresting” player the league has seen in recent years. His entire career is a wild roller coaster ride for sure. Funniest thing about him is that he’s a dynasty killer. Stopped the Heat and Warriors from three-peating. My lore for Kawhi is he’s from the future and gets sent back in time just to restore balance to the league and stop super teams 😂
Man i thought i was tripping but he did say it twice
Thx man, was lookin` weird at my joint for a moment there.
Was looking for this comment
That shit tony parker said never sat right with me. Saying, "well mine was worse," is such weird energy
It’s Tony park bruh b trippin
Being a Raptors fan since day 1 kawhi really showed this whole fan base the difference between what a superstar can do vs what an Allstar can do for your team. That whole playoffs run was absolutely the greatest run I've ever watched. He took the team on his back straight to the chip
That laugh is iconic now lol
15:00. Chuck Swirsky (raptor broadcasting legend) would say “Onions, baby, onions!” When a raptor would make a big shot, was sort of like his tag line. Definitely strange when heard out of context, but as a kid and a die hard raptor fan it was music to my ears. Your content is underrated af ignore the hate on dis one
Also a Chicago Bulls announcing legend, having been their radio commentator for years now & has even filled in for White Sox games on occasion.
I remember reading somewhere that he especially used it after big clutch plays, and it was his family-friendly way of saying "he has big balls." No clue if that was true, can anyone confirm? I always assumed it meant the shot/player was gonna make the other team cry but I kinda like the big balls explanation better.
As a Kawhi fan and a raptors fan, this video was exactly what I needed.
The Reason Toronto was so hyped for the Raptors was because their favorite team "The Maple Leafs", haven't made the finals since 1967. They didn't make it out of the 1st round since 2003 back then. This was an actual compitant organization that had success in the playoffs as apposed to THE team in Toronto.
The Leafs have also never played a game in June 😂
Raptors are literally owned by the same organisation too
Old school Raptor fan here. Chuck Swirsky always used to say “Onions, baby onions!” And when the game was decided, he would say “bring out the salami and cheese”. No idea why, but it’s seared into my memory from the late 90’s/early 2000s.
I'll never forget Cowherd put Kawhi top 5 all time if he never played another game after this chip. To his credit he was pretty right about the never playing another game part
I mean it’s not that crazy give the man another ring and an mvp and we’d be having some tough conversstions
@@poorchrisYou're glazing too hard
@@poorchrislmao stop
As a Toronto native I can honestly this documentary was a masterpiece and I appreciate the layers and how deeply you covered so many of the narratives that surrounded one of the biggest sports moments in the country history and a truely culturally defining moment that we greatly appreciate when flowers are given👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽
I know a video like this is a MASSIVE undertaking, but having such glaring audio issues in the first 10 minutes of the video makes me think no one actually gave it a once over before publishing. Really want to see Rusty and his team improve and make the quality content that I know they can but it's the little things like that they need to improve at. The audio mixing as a whole was pretty rough throughout the entire watch
Also big props to whoever did the stat/trade graphics at the 18min-ish mark. They look extremely retro to fit the vibe but super clean at the same time
Yeah I was thinking the same. Music too loud at times, noticed 3-4 times that look like they should’ve been cut out in the last 10 minutes.
Will always hurt that we had to give up DeRozan for the chip. Favorite player of all time, got me into following basketball.
Yeah, it all depends on how you view it. DeRozan is clearly not good enough to lead a team to a championship right. And if he wasn't such a great guy and an inspiring story who loved us and we loved him back, this wouldn't be a story. If he was like Rudy Gay we would have similar memories of him. He elevated himself, which is what I mean. That's to his credit, of course. And shows how much character matters. Any other player with his level of skill being traded is not a big deal, and getting the guy back we got is crazy. So I guess yeah it was sad to see him go, but that's the game.
Favorite player ever? You must not like great playoff performances
@@Jay_dracocan’t like a player if they aren’t an all time great? You must not like basketball very much. Ik it’s probably hard for you to comprehend but not everyone’s favorite player is bron or Steph.
Alright, time to make the Kawhi Raptors Trade Tree. It's very interesting. Spurs getting a lot out of the trade and maybe they will get some good quality players to build around Wemby.
It was so surreal when we got Kawhi, such a magical season…Fun Fact in the 2011 draft Raptors actually wanted to draft Kawhi and tried to trade down in draft. We should of just drafted him anyway but at the time they also couldnt resist adding jonas Valanciunas who we thought would be our center of the future after not having a true center since Rasho nesterovic. Historically we always been horrible at Center so i dont even blame them for drafting JV. Funny how we ended up trading him for Marc Gasol tho who probably is our best center of all time even though he was on the tail end of his career to complete our title run.
He had to develop in San Antonio under Pop to become the Kawhi we know. Don't think he would've reached his potential if he was drafted anywhere else. We forget that he was a defensive specialist with a suspect jumper and a loose handle coming out of college. Even when he won that first chip with the Spurs he was a 3 and D player that scored most of his buckets as a spot up shooter. Kawhi would've likely been a career role player if he was drafted anywhere besides the spurs. Whether you like them or not, the Spurs are the best franchise at drafting and developing talent.
Excellent video Rusty. This was such an improbable run. I watched this over a few nights.
Around 9:30 the audio is off a bit
Kawhi was the best player in the NBA, impact - wise, from the second half of the 15-16 season up until about 2020. Everyone watching Spurs games semi regularly already knew that, there was nobody who would change the game more, on both sides of the floor. I watched every Spurs regular season game in 15-16. He was never beaten by his man, not even once, without a screen. Even after a screen, he would either blitz through it or trail his man at close distance with those long arms, nobody stood a chance against him.
man im 12 mins in and as a raptors fan this is already feeling like a love letter, great video homie
As a Canadian, this meant so much. Words can’t even express it. Forever grateful for 2019 run.
As a Bucks Fan I feel same way about 2021. I'm almost 48 years old and it was the first Chip in my lifetime.
26:55 if you have never seen the Game of Zones clip about this, it is one of the most well-aged pieces of media I've ever seen. "King James is gone from our path, but he is also gone from our excuses".
ua-cam.com/video/cTU8iRdwfGc/v-deo.htmlsi=4osQj-m7OzM1jjFx
I truly believe he has been a better player in all of his years as a Clipper than he was as Raptor. He is more efficient, more engaged defensively, a far better playmaker, and takes more threes in a Clipper uniform.
Man, let me tell you it's been a minute since I saw a Rusty video in my timeline.
Then I'm sitting here saying to myself Rusty looks so different now! "Who Rusty look like?"
Then ten minutes into it, I got it!
MIKE SHINODA from Linkin Park!
Wooooooow! 😮
Follow his other channel called Also Rusty Buckets. It has almost daily uploads.
There is so much misinformation around how Spurs treated Kawhi. When him and his uncle were at creating nuisance around it. The diagnosis made by Spurs medical staff was true and correct. I hope his uncle is happy.
Kawhi Leonard's durability is about as good as a BOTW tree branch lmao
People like you are genuinely restarted 😂
living in canada when this happened,,, being our cities version 'jurasic park' for game 6,, insane memories
So the thing about Vince Carter "saving the Raptors" is...not true. Like it's flatout a myth.
What saved the Raptors was collective ownership. For context, the group that owns the Raptors, MLSE, owns the Toronto Maple Leafs. Both the Leafs and Raptors played under the same roof, the Air Canada Centre (Now Scotiabank Arena) and thus MLSE pulled a clever move when ticket sales dipped in 1997-98: When they sold tickets, they sold them for the ACC, not the Leafs or Raptors individually. So if you wanted to see the Leafs, you had to pay for the Raptors too. And if you know anything about how popular the Leafs were and still are...well you can see why the ticket sales picked up in 98. Getting Vince definitely helped make Canada a basketball nation but it's not "the reason the Raptors are still in Canada" like the line oft repeated.
That's synergy the Grizzlies did not have with the Vancouver Canucks and even with the Grizzlies, then-commisioner David Stern wanted to keep the team in Vancouver. Given Vancouver is one of the biggest cities in North America and Memphis is...not, you can see why.
An aside but his exit and the animosity that sprung from it has a lot to do with the way Vince forced his way off the team. Allegedly tipping off an opposing team to the Raptors play, assaulting his coach (Not an allegation, his mom and teammate Jalen Rose have talked about this incident multiple times) and in general slumping in Toronto. One only needs look at his final season's stats with the Raptors vs. the start of his Nets tenure.
Dude, we were nothing before Vince. He left us with a bad taste in our mouths and lost his motor but there is absolutely no denying we chased him outta town. Remember, he resigned with the Raptors. But his string of injuries and our bad team building made him want to leave. He didn’t do it gracefully and he wore that shame the rest of his career. But it’s delusional to pretend he didn’t change Canadian basketball forever. There are exponentially more Canadians year after year entering the league since his legacy was first crafted. He was Kevin Durant’s favourite player.
Riiiight.
I dont know anything about Toronto but I was so happy for them with this team. Their fans were like totally rabid and I just felt happy for them. Ok now Im gonna say something that might be crazy. Kawhi's game reminds me the most of MJ's out of anyone. I am not comparing skill levels! But just like this guy says himself, they both were soooo smart on the court and could always slow down the game and take control.
Dallas Texas resident who picked the raptors as my team because 2k13 my career they drafted me. One of the best moments in sports I’ve ever witnessed
I like this video because it shows the Raptors shouldn't be punished for KD getting hurt, and Klay late in Game 6. Raptors lost OG Anunoby for the entirety of the playoffs, they also could have lost a starter for a series but had the bench that could fill in the holes left by a star getting injured. The Raptors simply built a better team than the 2019 Warriors, not better than 2017 but better than a team that couldn't afford to lose any of their top dogs in the Finals. The Raps also won both regular season games against the Warriors that year which helped them secure home court advantage in the Finals, and won ALL THREE road games at Oracle to win the title, which is the most underrated achievement of all.
I still cannot believe that amazing Warriors team who only had Klay Thompson, KD, Iggy, and Kevon Looney injured either throughout the series or parts of it. I still don't know how they managed to do it.
A fantastic Christmas gift from Rusty! Keep up the great work. All the best to you and your loved ones!
18:35 oh the irony
there's no way to communicate how high the vibes were all across canada during this run. i made sure to savour it because as a raptors fan i know i'll never experience it again. i was sad to see kawhi leave just like i was sad to see vince leave, but i completely understood because he over-delivered in every sense.
Bro, that transition into the Vince Carter dunk starting at the rim and rewinding backwards was fucking sick
This video doesn’t have enough likes, the quality alone is unreal, keep up the good work man your videos are amazing
I mean this as constructive criticism, but the editing wasn't the best in this one. Aside from the obvious audio issue when Rusty is talking at the same or lower level as the game call, the music during the majority of the video is too loud. The content of the video is good, and I don't mean this as hate, but hopefully something to adjust next time.
Idk bro seemed fine to me. I have no idea what you’re talking about
@@packers071 It was noticeable but only lasted a few seconds. There was also a few sections of the video where the audio reset back and replayed a sentence again, and a couple mis-speaks left in as well. Overall it wasnt bad just not up to the same standard as his previous longer format videos. Still a great vid though for sure.
Nah the most unlikely finals run has to be the 2011 Mavs
2011 Mavs went through
49-34 Portland Traillblazers (Prime LaMarcus Aldridge & a declining yet still pretty good Brandon Roy)
57-25 Los Angeles Lakers (Prime Kobe Bryant, Prime Pau Gasol) ***Defending Champions***
55-27 Oklahoma City Thunder (Prime Kevin Durant, Prime Russell Westbrook & Prime James Harden)
58-24 Miami Heat (Prime LeBron James, Prime Dwayne Wade & Prime Chris Bosh)
The Mavs beat all of these teams with 1 player that averaged more than 16PPG, 1 player that averaged over 4.1APG & 1 player that averaged over 7RPG in the 2011 season. This team not only beat the defending champion with one of if not the best player in the league at the time (Kobe) but they swept them.
What a great video. This was such a defining moment as a raptors fan
I’m like a moth to a flame for 1hr+ vids about basketball
I was caught off guard seeing you rock the Harry Potter glasses Rusty. I've been watching you for years and I'm not sure when you started wearing them but I find them hilarious.
It’s poetic that the same franchise that missed the that game 7 buzzer beater with Vince would later become the first with Kawhi. Great video rusty!
Against the same team as well how crazy is that
Great vid!
oh rusty, making me feel like I earned my unc status. Chuck Swirsky's big call was Onions, baby onions, along with Salami & Cheese. That was his Mike Breen's bang.
I’ve been a Raptors fan since 2016, the game 7 shot was my favorite few seconds of my life
Thank you for the video Rusty great job
Kawhi should’ve signed a 1and1 in Toronto. And you knew he was thinking that with that pi$$ed off look on his face in game 7 against Denver in the bubble. He would’ve made another conference finals and likely another finals seeing as Toronto was literally a shot away from them with Pascal averaging 14 pts per game.
Plus.. Facts.
Hindsight is 20/20
Pascal was cold asf, covid really fucked us
Calling demar d-rose does not sit right with me… have we forgotten the guy who’s actually called d rose ?!
Same thing as calling Lamelo Melo. Fans gotta come up with new nicknames
Always thought DeMar's nickname was Deebo
In hindsight, the Raptors dodged a bullet with resigning Kawhi
ye especially when you find out what his demands were to be resigned... we wud just be what the Clippers are
Really enjoy your work my man.
love the documentaries rusty keep it up bro
Great Team. Great work on the doc. Firing COTY and trading your franchise player for a 1 year enigma / risk - gotta be all time GM moves. What a run.
the smile that I got on my face when I realized the pattern you were bringing up with the 1 point loss to the nets, great writing
that laugh is just too infectious lolol
Thank you for another deep dive your grace.
Well, Rusty called us Goats and we will be there for part 2 🤝
This was brilliant, more like this please
Its so strange to me he just went to Toronto for one year and was the best player in the league for a few years then all the sudden hes on a different team after bringing Toronto a ship lmao
this video has a lot audio editing problems where the music is too loud compared to rusty’s voice and there’s a lot of the music that makes the video feel overproduced and less cinematic especially when your trying to be story teller. It makes the video feel a little flat and uninteresting. No hate at all just pointing it out
7:02
9:20-9:29
30:55-33:14
48:00-50:00
53:00-54:30
1:03:00-1:03:30
This is still one of my favorite runs of all time because of how special it was.
Kawhi became a legend because of this championship run.
I have a long trip ahead of me and this video is perfect. Thanks Rusty ❤
Hey, Rusty, when are you going to release Dehumanization of athletes deep dive you once talked about? It was a very interesting video idea
Great video 👏👌
Amazingly well made video!! Need more
Witnessing this run as a lifelong raptors fan during highschool was insane, considering that there has not been a canadian team winning the Stanley Cup.or world series since "93 and the MLS considered a subpar compared to its European counterpart, it was great to see Canada on top of the sports world again. Really wished Kawhi run it back, atleast for one more season.
As a Raptors fan, I have to say that buzzer beater from Kawhi against the Sixers was like the best juju ever lol. When Jimmy Butler gets the ball and scores in transition after Kawhi's missed free throw, you can hear a woman in the crowd scream like bloody murder like a horror movie. That Vince Carter missed game 7 shot back in the day was living on in that moment. And overall I feel as a fanbase, we had never really seen such overcoming of adversity on the biggest stage and actually having a team that you could concretely envision them coming through on top when all seems lost. The ensuing Bucks series felt like the kind of thing where coming back from down 2 against MVP Giannis would have felt like a more desperate hope. It definitely meant so much to us as a fanbase AND as a country. clearly because we won a chip, but it also put the seal of approval on our winning culture to that point, even if Kawhi left. But I personally feel that game 7 shot against the Sixers was what made us as a fanbase able to raise our collective energy and perspective to believe a franchise that, as you said, "shouldn't win a championship", would. With Masai still running things, hopefully we can get back to being a solid team and have that vision again soon.
Great doc bruh!
loved this!
Great retrospective Rusty
I love your channel and am also a daily viewer of your second channel and love that as well, so please take my comment for what it is: constructive (hopefully) feedback from someone who's done some video editing.
There are a lot of points throughout the video where you seem to rephrase what you planned on saying but didnt cut out the first take, so we got a bit of repetition in there. I think it happened twice in this video and I've seen it in some of your other long-form content as well. Also there was a moment (when we were talking about the 2013 spurs I think) where I definitely could not hear you because the game audio got left in and completely drowned you out for about 6 seconds before it faded out. In all you make a good product with these documentaries that show great potential and that I love to watch to learn about specific points in basketball history and trends in the league. You're an excellent narrator and the information is on point with both delivery and pacing, but these videos could be even better with a slightly more careful eye for the editing! Again, I love your videos, please keep it up ❤❤
It's so poetic that where Vince missed a buzzer beating game 7 winner against the 76ers, Kawhi would actually make that exact kind of bucket on the way to a championship.
The only thing I hate about 2019 Raptors is Klay injury
If it wasn't for that injury we would have witnessed game 7 still All Star Klay Thompson and greatest game 6 Klay performance ever
Jk absolutely love 2019 Toronto and Kawhi
40:09 That YEEEEEEEESHHHHH has me laughing so hard, I just keep replaying it for endless joy and an intense ab workout. How many takes did you do to get this so perfect?!
I love kawhi and At his peak arguably top 3 players in the league alongside Bron and KD (2016-2021)
Love the content rusty
Camped up with flu, man did I need this upload
raptors recap section was great! had no idea the guy from the crying introspective bag twitter gif was so freaking tuff.
Coincidentally, I was looking at their roster on Basketball Reference and thinking about what a cool bunch of guys this team had on their sole championship run.
Short chubby Zubac with anotha banger. All love brotha, keep up the great work
This is the deepest dive I've ever seen on this run. Thank you. It's sad Leonard didn't stick around. They really had built the perfect team around him and that team, even without Leonard, was killing it up until the pandemic. Siakam was amazing...and then apparently during the pandemic he didn't play or practice and when they came back he was a shell of the player he'd been for the playoff run in the bubble. Too bad. From all the NBA fortune in the world to the worst fortune in the NBA the following season was concussive for fans to say the least.
YESSSS RUSTY MADE ANOTHER RAPTORS VID!!!!!!!
I cannot stress what it was like to watch Kawhi that postseason. He was truly unstoppable.
Damn… I remember when Kyle Lowry was the backup to Aaron Brooks in Houston
theres usually so little raptors content, thank you