The NBA thinks of it as the midway point of the regular season, but the league’s all-star break is more like one final breather before teams enter the final, most crucial, stretch of the year.
It is a time for all-star shenanigans and quick trips to sunny locales, for fans and players alike to dream of what their teams could achieve over the next four months, before the Larry O’Brien Trophy is lifted by this year’s winner.
Raptors fans have been living the dream for more than a year now, since LeBron James left the Eastern Conference and Toronto traded for Kawhi Leonard in the summer of 2018, seismic shifts that led to the organization’s first title last June.