76ers Fans React to Kawhi Leonard's Buzzer-Beater on Social Media a Year Later

Author:
Justin Grasso
Publish date:
May 12, 2020 1:23 PM EDT

On this day in 2019, Philadelphia 76ers fans felt heartbreak once again. As everybody around the NBA knew the Sixers had built one of the more talented lineups in the league, 76ers fans were hopeful that the multiple midseason moves made to improve the roster would enhance the team's postseason progress.

Two years ago, the Sixers were eliminated in the second round of the playoffs after getting dominated by the Boston Celtics. Last year, the 76ers were looking for redemption as they faced the Toronto Raptors in the second round.

The Philly-Toronto series was tough. It took seven games for those two teams to settle with a winner -- and even then, the Sixers and the Raptors almost needed an extra quarter to finally separate from one another. The keyword here is almost.

With four seconds left in the game, the Raptors managed to inbound the ball to their star forward, Kawhi Leonard. As expected, the series' standout player was going to take the final shot. If he misses, the Sixers and the Raptors head into overtime. If he makes it, well then, the Raptors are going to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals.

The situation was intense, and the sequence of the shot alone made the scene much more dramatic. Somehow, Leonard got his shot off with a seven-foot center jumping in front of him. And four bounces later, the Raptors officially eliminated the 76ers from the playoffs, breaking the hearts of Sixers fans all over. Sometimes, pain is temporary. In this case, though, 76ers fans are still recovering a year later.