The parade buses pulled out of the OVO Center, puttered east down Lakeshore Boulevard, cut north up York Street and turned onto Ontario University Avenue before stopping in Nathan Phillips Square, where a horde of red-clad Raptors fans—some of whom had sacked out there in sleeping bags the night before—waited to celebrate the city’s first major sports championship since Joe Carter’s home run delivered a second straight title for the Blue Jays, in 1993.
From a perch atop one bus 33-year-old point guard Kyle Lowry took it all in. He sprayed the crowd with champagne. He hugged Drake.