A crowd gathered in downtown Toronto for a parade in celebration of the Toronto Raptors’ historic NBA title.
Tens of thousands of supporters lined the streets of that Canadian city to watch the players ride an open-top bus.
“You think the parade is going to be amazing and you can’t even imagine this,” Raptors coach Nick Nurse said. “It’s great,” he added.
People began camping overnight to fill Nathan Phillips Plaza to its 65,000 capacity. Police asked people not to go to the stage area because it was packed and subway stations were closed to limit access.
The Raptors beat defending champion Golden State Warriors 114-110 on Thursday in California to clinch the best-of-seven final 4-2.
“It’s amazing,” said Raptors star Kawhi Leonard. Everybody is out. I don’t think anyone went to work today. Everyone has the day off. Look. It’s crazy. Thanks to Canada for the support. We did it”.
Leonard, who could choose to become a free agent, said the team has been celebrating since leaving the court in Oakland after the last game, which gave the Raptors the title for the first time in their history.
“The last few days have been incredible,” said Leonard. “Do not sleep. Much celebration. And we will move on ».
The players wore jerseys and sunglasses as they watched the fans.
“That’s why we wanted to win a championship,” Raptors point guard Kyle Lowry said. “This is incredible. And we’re not even close to finishing.
The last time Toronto held a major sports title was in 1993, when the Toronto Blue Jays won the World Series of baseball.
Canada, a country of 37 million people, had 20 million people watching the broadcast of game six, the decisive one. AFP