Raptors set records
It was widely reported that there hadn’t been as much money poured into one team as there was on the Toronto Raptors during the NBA Finals this year. And when you think about it, that isn’t all that surprising given the state of the sports betting industry today compared to recent years. There are more bets being placed today than ever thanks to the ease of access that online sports betting can provide. And with the Raptors never having been this successful in the playoffs before, it’s no surprise that Canada backed them wholeheartedly.
In fact, this is really the first time that a Canadian team has performed this well in any postseason since the momentum of sports betting really started to pick up. The Toronto Blue Jays made some deep playoff runs of their own, but the level of popularity of the NBA pushed the Raptors well ahead of Toronto’s exciting Major League Baseball squads for the honor of being the most heavily backed team in the country.
Toronto has embraced the Raptors like few cities embrace their NBA teams, with their outdoor watch parties for important games and incredibly loud atmosphere inside the arena. And with a little added financial incentive to support the team, Raptors fans were sure to bring their best for the Finals.
Raptors impact on next years odds
As is customary, the Raptors are being listed as one of the favorites to win the 2019-2020 NBA title. In most years, the team that just won the championship is the team that is favored to get the job done again the next season. But there are a lot of factors that could keep the Raptors from repeating, and could have a serious impact on the next few years of NBA history.
The first of those factors is the fact that the key to the Raptors success in 2019, Kawhi Leonard, may be signing elsewhere this offseason. Leonard turned the Raptors into an instant championship team in his first year with the Raptors, and whether or not he is wearing a Raptors uniform next season will have an undeniable effect on how likely it is that the Raptors win another title.
Whether Toronto can get another ring or not remains to be seen, but most Canadian sports bettors will never forget what he and the Raptors did both for that city and for their sportsbook accounts. To get a look at the odds for the Raptors to win the 2020 NBA Finals, take a look at these sites.