vs.
(ALL-CANADA NBA FINALS)
2001 NBA FINALS, GAME 1: PRE-GAME INTRODUCTION
Courtesy of NBC
Aired June 6, 2001
(Montage begins, with “Requiem for a Dream” playing in the background. We see a screen with the date “September 30, 1993”.)
DAVID STERN: The NBA has decided to award an expansion franchise to Toronto, beginning play in the 1995-96 NBA season.
(Montage then shows next screen, dated “April 27, 1994”.)
DAVID STERN: The NBA has decided to award an expansion franchise to Vancouver, beginning play… with the Toronto franchise… in the 1995-96 NBA season.
(screen cuts to black)
MARV ALBERT: And 6 years later, here we are. The NBA’s two youngest teams: the Toronto Raptors and the Vancouver Grizzlies, competing for the NBA’s ultimate prize. These two teams are also Canada’s only teams playing in the NBA. But while these two teams started at the same spot, success came at different speeds for each team. Thanks to savvy drafting and trading, the Toronto Raptors have already won each of the last 2 championships; many are calling them the greatest team ever. With their superstar duo of Kobe Bryant and Kevin Garnett, and great supporting pieces in Steve Nash and Michael Finley, the Raptors come in here looking to do what only the Lakers of the 50’s, the Celtics of the 60’s, and the Bulls of the 90’s did before them: three-peat. But don’t take our word for it. That’s all they’ve been talking about all season. The Vancouver Grizzlies, who used similar strategies to the Raptors, took a little longer, getting repeatedly bounced out of the first round. But this year, they finally managed to break through and ride their wave of momentum all the way to the NBA Finals. They’re going for their first championship, and they believe that they can do it against the juggernaut Raptors. Will that belief carry them to their first championship? Or will the Raptors make it 3 in a row? Raptors vs. Grizzlies, it’s the NBA Finals! Game 1 next!
(cut to NBA on NBC intro)
ANNOUNCER: This is the NBA on NBC! The 2001 NBA Finals! Tonight… it’s Game 1… the Vancouver Grizzlies vs. the Toronto Raptors!
MARV ALBERT: This Air Canada Centre crowd is in a frenzy as they get ready for the Raptors to take the court for the first all-Canada Finals in NBA history! As you can see, the Grizzlies huddling, they come into these finals as 3-to-1 underdogs, but they do not lack for spirit! And as for the Toronto Raptors, the 2-time defending champion, seemingly unstoppable Toronto Raptors, they come in looking for their third straight!
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Once all the hype ended, it was time for the Raptors and Grizzlies to play basketball. And the Raptors would strike first, thanks to an incredibly clutch moment by Kobe Bryant.
- From the
ESPN 30 for 30 documentary “We the North”
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2001 NBA FINALS, GAME 1
Courtesy of NBC
Aired June 6, 2001
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT.
MARV ALBERT: 13 seconds to go, game tied at 108. Raptors will get the ball after a timeout. Wallace to inbound. Nash will bring the ball up court. Nash… dumps it off to Finley… Finley looking to either make something happen for himself or somebody else, but nobody seems to be open! Bryant open… catches it… for the win!
(buzzer sounds)
MARV ALBERT: YES! Kobe Bryant at the buzzer… and the Toronto Raptors will take Game 1 of this best of 7, 111-108!
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After a Game 1 thriller, the Raptors would blow the Grizzlies out in Game 2 by 36 points, putting the Grizzlies down 2-0 going into Vancouver, culminating in an epic dunk by Kobe Bryant. Of all of the highlights Bryant pulled during his NBA career, what he did in Game 2 of the Finals clearly tops the list.
- From the
ESPN 30 for 30 documentary “We the North”
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2001 NBA FINALS, GAME 2
Courtesy of NBC
Aired June 8, 2001
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT.
MARV ALBERT: Raptors up 17-13, with 7 minutes left in the first quarter. Smith with the jumper… no good! Rebound Ratliff… passes it to Nash… the baseball pass to Kobe Bryant, Bryant all alone with Smith!
(Bryant jumps over Grizzlies center Joe Smith and dunks the basketball, in similar fashion to how Vince Carter dunked on Frederic Weis at the 2000 Olympics. A thunderous, deafening roar is heard from the Air Canada Centre crowd, with everybody immediately rising to their feet.)
MARV ALBERT (
screaming, but barely audible): KOBE… BRYANT! WITH THE SENSATIONAL PLAY ON JOE SMITH! AND THE GRIZZLIES CALL TIME!
(NBC commentators go silent, remaining speechless for about 30 seconds)
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Oh man… the Kobe Bryant dunk on Joe Smith. I only saw that once before: with Vince Carter in the Olympics. Haven’t seen it since. Big difference between that dunk and this one: this one happened in the
NBA Finals. Kobe was just killing it that entire postseason, and when he jumped over Joe Smith… oh my god, I can’t express it!
- Kevin Garnett, from the
ESPN 30 for 30 documentary “We the North”
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After a Game 2 blowout, the Raptors would head to Vancouver up 2-0 in the series. And Game 3 appeared to be more of the same, as the Raptors won that game on a 41-point performance from Michael Finley to take a commanding 3-0 lead in the series. Going into Game 4, it appeared as if the Raptors would sweep the Finals for the first time in their history, and achieve that elusive 3-peat. But the Vancouver Grizzlies came to play that day, and it ultimately showed, as the Grizzlies beat the Raptors 113-106. This set up a Game 5 overtime thriller between the Raptors and the Grizzlies that ranks as one of the greatest NBA Finals games in history.
- From the
ESPN 30 for 30 documentary “We the North”
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2001 NBA FINALS, GAME 5
Courtesy of NBC
Aired June 15, 2001
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT.
MARV ALBERT: Bryant, looking to get a shot off… 9 seconds to go… gets into Ratliff… Ratliff… puts up the inside shot… He gets it with 4.2 seconds to go! We are tied at 121, and the Grizzlies call time!
DOUG COLLINS: What a clutch play by Kobe Bryant, setting up Ratliff, but what a clutch play by Ratliff for making that shot over Abdur-Rahim!
MARV ALBERT: So the Grizzlies will get the ball, 4.2 seconds to go, with a chance to send the series back to Toronto.
DOUG COLLINS: The main battle right here is Ray Allen vs. Kobe Bryant… Allen’s probably gonna get the ball. Bryant can’t let Ray Allen get an open shot… he’s a 41% shooter from downtown.
MARV ALBERT: Stoudamire to inbound… to Marion… Marion looking for some room… puts up the three! No good! Rebound Massenburg, he tries to take a shot…
(buzzer sounds)
MARV ALBERT: NO GOOD! And we’re going to overtime!
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Game 5 of the 2001 NBA Finals would be an absolute back-and-forth war between the Raptors and Grizzlies. For the Raptors, they were trying to finish off their run of three straight championship seasons. For the Grizzlies, they had to play every game as if it were their last. But of all the crazy and strange playoff endings this season, the ending to Game 5 would prove to be the craziest, and most unbelievable.
- From the
ESPN 30 for 30 documentary “We the North”
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2001 NBA FINALS, GAME 5
Courtesy of NBC
Aired June 15, 2001
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT.
MARV ALBERT: Down to 20 seconds… Nash for three! Got it! And we are tied at 133!
DOUG COLLINS: What a play by Steve Nash! Getting as open as he did and drilling it in the face of Damon Stoudamire!
MARV ALBERT: Now, Stoudamire will bring the ball up court… on the perimeter… 9 seconds, clock is ticking… tries to get it to Abdur-Rahim… with the shot… he is… stripped by Garnett! Garnett stole the ball! And the Raptors call a timeout, 2.6 seconds to go!
DOUG COLLINS: This is it, now, with 2.6 seconds to go, and the game tied, you only have to get one point and win this game. Go for the easiest shot possible… get it into either Steve Nash, Kobe Bryant or Kevin Garnett. Even though that’s what everybody will be expecting, they’ve been your most reliable guys all year in these types of situations to make the shot. If they do that, the Raptors might be coming home with another championship tonight. As for the Grizzlies, you have to go for a turnover. That’s the only way you’ll score, but even then, the only way you’ll stay alive. You cannot let the Raptors score. If you do, it’s all over.
MARV ALBERT: Grizzlies facing what could be the end of their season. 2.6 seconds left, Raptors have the ball. Nash to inbound. Garnett catches, shoots… no good! Rebound Ben Wallace… out to the 3-point line… the prayer!
(buzzer sounds)
MARV ALBERT: YES! IT’S IN! THE RAPTORS HAVE WON THREE STRAIGHT NBA CHAMPIONSHIPS ON A MIRACULOUS 3-POINTER BY BEN WALLACE! THE RAPTORS HAVE DONE IT AGAIN!
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Ben Wallace? Sank a
3-point shot that won the game? Man, I have a hard time believing that. You know, to this day, I still believe he released the shot after the buzzer sounded… I still don’t think that really happened. And I was on the court… I saw it happen. It plays in my mind over and over again… and I still can’t believe it happened. It feels like a nightmare I never really woke up from.
- Excerpt from the 2013
NBA Entertainment Documentary “Ray Allen: The Art of the Sweet Shot”
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The Ben Wallace game-winning 3-pointer was the most unexpected ending to the most unexpected Finals series in NBA history. To this day, it’s still ranked as #1 on lists of “Greatest Moments in NBA History,” just because of the sheer improbability and timing of it. Ben Wallace, the team’s worst shooter, managed to sink a game-winning three-pointer at the buzzer in the NBA Finals to win the Toronto Raptors a championship. It seemed like something straight out of a Disney movie.
- From the
ESPN 30 for 30 documentary “We the North”
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Three-peat! Game-winning 3-pointer caps off overtime thriller that sees Raptors win third straight NBA championship
Toronto Star
June 16, 2001
(VANCOUVER) – In a game that looked and felt just like the epic championship battles of many sports movies, the Raptors came out on top, and claimed their third straight NBA championship in a 136-133 overtime victory in yesterday’s Game 5. This makes them only the fourth team in NBA history to win 3 titles in a row, after the Minneapolis Lakers of the 50’s, the Boston Celtics of the 60’s, and the Chicago Bulls of the 90’s, and makes them the only team in NBA history to follow up another team’s championship three-peat (Chicago Bulls, 1996, 1997, and 1998) with a three-peat of their own (1999, 2000, and 2001).
During the trophy presentation at GM Place in Vancouver, the first in Raptors history not held at the Air Canada Centre (or in Toronto in general), David Stern called the Toronto Raptors “a team for the ages,” and congratulated them on an “unbelievable ending to an unbelievable championship run.”
Meanwhile, Raptors owner John Bitove claimed that he saw this coming all the way, joking, “Only 3 championships? Man, I expected 6 by now.” He then expressed his admiration for the team, saying, “But seriously, this is a great organization from top to bottom: everyone here is committed to winning, committed to true greatness every day. We have the best coaching staff in the world, we have the best players in the world, we have the best fans in the world… all of that adds up, we have the best team in the world!” While taking some time to savour the moment, he also tried to predict where the Raptors would be next June: “All that’s left is for us to go for 4.”
Raptors head coach Brendan Malone echoed Bitove’s sentiments, saying that “he counts his blessings every day that Isiah (Thomas) brought me here, that Isiah, Allan (Slaight, another owner of the Raptors), & John had faith in me from the moment I got here. They never gave up on me, never gave up on this team, and it shows. We’re raising another championship trophy to prove it. When we went for our first championship, I told my guys that they were a championship team every night. Once we won that first championship, I told them, ‘The winning only stops when you let it.’ And so far, they haven’t let it stop.”
Meanwhile, Finals MVP Kobe Bryant, after averaging 27 points, 6.4 rebounds, 5.8 assists, and 2.2 steals on 42.2 minutes per game, said that “it’s an honour to be a part of this team and this organization. Winning 3 straight championships at this young an age… it’s been a dream come true. And like John said, hopefully, we can go for 4 next year. It’s great to be here again and again.”
But the real hero of this game, and for that matter, the series, was Ben Wallace. With the game tied at 133 with 2 seconds left to play in overtime, Wallace rebounded a Kevin Garnett miss and drained an unbelievable buzzer-beating three-pointer that would give the Raptors the game, the series, and the championship. Wallace, a third-string power forward for the Raptors, came through when the team needed it most, and even though those were his only 3 points of the game, Wallace said that “it ultimately doesn’t matter when those 3 points win your team a championship.” Wallace also said that he was “still trying to wrap his head around what just happened” at the trophy presentation, but said that, “when the opportunity presented itself to be a Finals hero… I wasn’t thinking about that. I was just thinking about making the shot to help us win the championship.”
Wallace better be able to absorb the fact that his buzzer-beating 3-pointer actually happened, as it is already being called the “greatest play in NBA history.” As a result, he will likely overshadow Finals MVP Kobe Bryant in this year’s championship celebrations; he has been asked to appear on
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno in Kobe Bryant’s place, and has also been asked to appear on shows like
The Oprah Winfrey Show, and
The Late Night Show with David Letterman, honours that would usually be reserved for the NBA Finals MVP.
When Bryant was asked about it, he laughed and told a reporter “not to worry about it, as he (Wallace) won us the championship, not me. If he doesn’t make that shot, we’re probably going back to Toronto without this trophy.” He also joked that the team “is gonna make sure the fame doesn’t go to Ben’s head.”
The Raptors’ championship parade will take place on Monday, starting at 12:00 PM, with the parade route being exactly the same as the parade route in previous years: it’ll start at Lake Shore Boulevard and Yonge Street, go west to Lake Shore & Spadina Avenue, then go up Spadina Avenue to Front Street, and then go down Front Street to Bay Street, where it will end just outside the Air Canada Centre. Excess fans will also be able to watch the parade inside Union Station, where the screens will show the championship parade instead of departure & arrival times for trains & buses.
The Raptors’ championship celebration is occurring under a calm environment for once: no expiring contracts, no trade rumours, no riots… just pure joy. It will be interesting to watch what that championship celebration looks and feels like, and just how long the carefree feeling surrounding this Raptors team lasts.
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2001 NBA Finals Results: Toronto Raptors (Eastern Conference) vs. Vancouver Grizzlies (Western Conference):
Game 1 (@ Toronto): Toronto 111, Vancouver 108: Toronto leads 1-0 (Kobe Bryant hits buzzer-beating, game-winning 3 pointer)
Game 2 (@ Toronto): Toronto 117, Vancouver 81: Toronto leads 2-0
Game 3 (@ Vancouver): Toronto 117, Vancouver 109: Toronto leads 3-0 (Michael Finley 41-point game)
Game 4 (@ Vancouver): Vancouver 113, Toronto 106: Toronto leads 3-1
Game 5 (@ Vancouver): Toronto 136, Vancouver 133: Toronto wins 4-1 (Ben Wallace hits series-winning 3-pointer at the buzzer)
Toronto Raptors defeat Vancouver Grizzlies 4-1, 2001 NBA CHAMPIONS
Total NBA Championships: 3 (1999, 2000, 2001) (THREE-PEAT)
