At this point, the relationship between LeBron James and the Toronto Raptors feels less like a matchup and more like a pattern the league can’t rewrite. No matter the year, no matter the roster on either side, the story somehow ends the same way. The Raptors push, they claw, they get close, and LeBron finds the moment that tilts the game back toward him.
A history Toronto just can’t seem to shake
For nearly a decade, LeBron has been the figure Toronto basketball can’t quite get away from. He left the Eastern Conference back in 2018, but the results have not changed. Heading into Thursday night, the Raptors had dropped five straight to the Los Angeles Lakers. LeBron James had not lost a game in Toronto since 2019.
However, this time things looked different. What made this matchup interesting is that Toronto actually had the opening. LeBron began the season dealing with sciatica issues, and he came into this game without his usual burst. Even the numbers reflected it. He finished just 4-17 from the field and 0-5 from beyond the arc; nothing was falling for him.
Even Scottie Barnes delivered the moment Toronto fans had been waiting years to see; he blocked LeBron’s turnaround jumper in a tie game, denying him double-digit scoring and snapping his 1,297-game streak in the process. For a few minutes, it felt like history might finally tilt in the other direction.
But the thing with LeBron is that he can win games in more ways than just one. What separates LeBron from nearly every star of his era is that scoring is not the only way he closes games. And with seconds left, he showed exactly why Toronto has struggled to solve him.
Austin Reaves escaped a double-team and swung the ball to LeBron at the top. LeBron did not rush. He did not chase a shot to salvage his point total. He read the floor, pulled Immanuel Quickley toward him, and delivered a sharp, clean pass into the corner. Rui Hachimura rose and knocked it down. 123–120, Lakers at the horn.
A game that was slipping away swung in an instant, because LeBron did not need to be the scorer to be the problem. And the thing is, this is not anything new; it is a trend that defines a decade.
Toronto has seen versions of this before, whether it be the tight 2016 series that collapsed late, the sweeps in 2017 and 2018, or the countless possessions where LeBron made the exact play the Raptors could not counter. No NBA player has defeated Toronto more times than LeBron. Forty-six wins and counting.
Even on his quietest night, he finds the final word. He did not look dominant. He did not look explosive. He did not look like the scorer he has been for the last 20-plus years. But he still controlled the ending.
There are many reasons James is a sports miracle. That is why Toronto can’t shake him. For years, the game has changed and evolved in all sorts of ways, but when it comes to LeBron and the Raptors, the outcome on the final possession often feels familiar.