Raptors receive ‘largest’ ever NBA title rings
Raptors players received what the team called the largest NBA championship rings ever, and unveiled their championship banner prior to Tuesday’s…
Andrew LopezESPN
TORONTO — It was a gray and gloomy morning in Toronto on Tuesday with rain showering the city off and on throughout the day. But as the afternoon hit, the sun started to shine — almost as bright as the Raptors‘ new championship rings.
Prior to tipoff against the New Orleans Pelicans, the Raptors presented their players and coaches with their championship rings and unveiled the 2019 NBA champions banner in the rafters of the Scotiabank Arena.
Here are some of the features of what the team called the “largest NBA championship ring” ever produced:
A 1.25-carat diamond atop the Larry O’Brien Trophy, the largest single diamond in any professional sports ring
The front of the ring depicts the Toronto skyline and the Scotiabank Arena along with the team’s chevron logo
The 74 diamonds in and around the Toronto skyline represent the team’s 74 wins in the regular season and playoffs
Above the arena on the front of the ring are six round diamonds representing “The Six,” which rapper and Raptors global ambassador Drake popularized as another reference for the city of Toronto
A historic ring for a historic accomplishment. #WeTheNorth pic.twitter.com/IZdkXQTj4B
— Toronto Raptors (@Raptors) October 22, 2019
16 rubies go around the ring with the 16 numbers of the players on the championship roster
Inside the ring, the championship logo is engraved above the playoffs series record and a ruby is set inside a maple leaf representing Canada
One side of the ring features the player’s name and number
The opposite side features “World Champions 2019” above the Raptors logo
In total, the ring boasts 14 carats worth of diamonds and more than 650 total diamonds — both are the most ever in any professional championship ring.
The banner — hanging near the same spot where Kawhi Leonard’s bouncing shot sent the Raptors to the Eastern Conference finals — is next to just two other banners: a 2019 Eastern Conference championship banner and a single banner commemorating all six of Toronto’s Atlantic Division titles, replacing the individual banners for each title the team used to have.
When it was time to unveil the banner, Kyle Lowry took the mic and called his teammates over to stand behind him and then led the crowd in a countdown. As the cover of the banner fell, Queen’s “We Are The Champions” blared throughout the arena as fireworks and pyrotechnics went off.
The black banner features a gold Larry O’Brien Trophy, with Toronto Raptors and 2019 World Champions in white above and below the trophy. It is trimmed in red and the names of the players are featured around the side.
Each of the fans inside the arena received a replica of the championship ring as well.
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