The Toronto Raptors have taken the risk this season, found a rhythm and grown since winning the NBA.

The Toronto Raptors. 2018-2019 NBA Champions. Eastern Conference Champions. A first championship for the Raptors in the 2019 NBA Finals. A year ago, I may not have remembered this, but a year on and I do. And I love being a part of the Raptor family.

In the past, I might have seen the NBA on the news, and I tried to get involved, but I found it hard to follow. I grew up in England and my passion from a young age was in football, European football. This was something I played day in, day out. Every single second and something I couldn't live without, somehow more than most. That's something for another day.

So at this point, I had not played basketball. Later, I started to become exposed to it once some of my international friends began to follow basketball. Popular teams were the Warriors, the Lakers and the Cavs (when LeBron was on the side). Sometimes, I'd see them following a game, and I'd watch, but I just found it hard to get into it. If I like a sport or anything really, I find remembering those who play that sport kind of easy to remember. For some reason, I had trouble connecting with basketball. I didn't remember many names beyond a handful. Fast forward a year, the effect of being in Downtown Toronto has attracted me to the team and basketball.

Why do I like them, though? Well, in Toronto, some of my friends had grown up supporting them; I'd listen to them talking about the odds and happiness of their title-winning season last year. Now as champions, the Raptors' fan base was likely to continue increasing, just as the NBA is growing. Regardless of the outcome of the NBA Finals last season, I believe I find the game and atmosphere that the Raptors create the most relatable. In a way, they are the underdogs, newish to the NBA, having only just celebrated their 25th anniversary this year. I was lucky enough to attend a part of the celebration in Downtown Toronto. Going with friends, I felt the team environment, and that atmosphere and the passion of the fans drew me closer to this team. I hadn't had this chance or seen it before, but the affection was clear to me. It wasn't in-your-face 'I'm a fan', but it felt right, that's kind of the easiest way to describe it as if I knew I'd feel at home.

I see the Raptors as my team given that I'm now a part of the Toronto community. It might be easy to say that it's clear why I like them given that I live so close to the team, and there's really no others closer. But there's more than just that. Many people support teams that they live nowhere near. Maybe someone's family has followed that team for a long time, or there's a favourite player adorned by them. Well, I felt welcomed by the Toronto Raptors and related to their players on an individual level. Pascal only changed to basketball much later than most and has probably faced plenty of criticism and hardship along the way, overcoming it. Lowry has stayed at the team for many years and is the face of the Raptors. As he has grown, the team has grown. Yet, Fred VanVleet is a player that I can relate to closely at the moment. I just rewatched the Raptor's run in last year's finals. It is exciting and incredible to see a player that was not a draft pick outperform Franchise players and dominate certain quarters at an early stage of his career. At one point, he was elbowed out of the game, but he came back for the next game a couple of days later. Fred gets his head down and works incredibly hard as do all the players, but from his point maybe he has that particular purpose. For he got another chance at Toronto. In the NBA, not many young players get the chance, there's just not many spaces. Fred earned his place to play for the Champions. He is a champion too. He's got a long way to go, and I can't wait to see what surprises he'll show us.

In supporting the Raptors, I feel at home and support a team that I relate to, both physically and on a personal level. I'm happy that I've got to enjoy basketball when I wasn't really expecting it to. The focus on the degree of competition in the team, the long term plan, and the current performers are why the Raptors have become a great team, and the outcome has come with it. There's a lot I don't know about the Raptors, and I'd admit in a few years I'll know much more. But for now, that's where I'm at.