2019 NBA Champions: Toronto Raptors Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		3.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		1.5
Overall		3.5

2019 NBA Champions: Toronto Raptors Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman December 20, 2019

2019 NBA Champions reviews the Toronto Raptors' championship winning season, pushing back to basketball's roots in the country and pushing forward to the team's six-game series win over the Golden State Warriors. In between is an engaging, and not exceedingly brief, 80 minute tale of basketball history, thrills, and heart, taking the time to not simply recap game action but also to weave together intertwining narratives concerning the larger human, team, and societal interests and implications beyond the court action. It may not be anything unique, but there's an appeal here beyond highlights and outside the focus of Raptors fandom.

The program briefly looks back at the history of basketball in Toronto, a traditionally hockey-centric city in a hockey-centric country but one with a rich hoops tradition. James Naismith, the man who invented the sport, was Canadian born, the program shares, and the league’s first game was played in Toronto. It moves on to look at the Raptors’ birth in the mid 1990s, Vince Carter’s pivotal role in cementing basketball’s popularity in the city, the Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozen era, and recent playoff losses to LeBron James and the Cavaliers. It moves on to look at the importance of trading for Kawhi Leonard and hiring head coach Nick Nurse before diving into the regular season and post season run.

The film assembles a fairly deep and fruitful presentation that doesn’t just focus on the playoffs and finals but also tells several key stories surrounding the franchise’s rise and regular season run, including a key midseason deal for veteran Marc Gasol, an inside presence who cemented the team’s roster construction. The program conversely spends mere minutes on the first-round matchup with the Orlando Magic but spares a bit more screen time for the nail-biting seven game second round series against the upstart and highly talented Sixers that ended with a Kawhi Leonard jump shot to win it at the buzzer. Following is a lengthier exploration of the team's hard-fought series against the Milwaukee Bucks in the Eastern Conference Finals prior to spending the bulk of its runtime on the Finals series against the Golden State Warriors, the dynasty making its fifth straight NBA finals appearance and seeking its fourth championship in that timespan.

The followup to the Raptors' victory has seen the team continue to rank highly in the 2019-2020 Eastern Conference standings, at time of writing sitting fourth in a crowded conference with a .704 winning percentage. And that's with the loss of Kawhi Leonard, who signed a three-year mega deal with the Los Angeles clippers in the offseason to play alongside Paul George. Meanwhile, the injury riddled Warriors presently sit at the bottom of the NBA's Western Conference, a startling plummet from glory in a season that's seen the rise of the Clippers, Lakers, and Mavericks and the continued excellence of the Houston Rockets atop the standings. The odds of a Finals repeat -- which has been the norm in the past few years with four straight clashes between the Warriors and Cavs prior to last season -- seem low, and the Raptors will have their work cut out for them with the powerhouse Bucks leading the Conference, but don't count out Nick Nurse and We the North; despite losing their best player, the Raptors remain a force in the East.

2019 NBA Champions: Toronto Raptors Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The 1080i encoded, 1.78:1-framed, digitally sourced picture impresses on Blu-ray. The program begins with low quality standard definition video footage as it cycles through a few highlights from the franchise's past, dating back to the 1990s. The bulk of the image, however, sourced from footage from the past NBA season, looks fine, boasting generally high yield detail and strongly defined colors. Whether action on the floor, locker room clips, or interview segments, the picture generally holds firm with few dips in quality. The red color that is now dominant on the Raptors uniforms appears bold and satisfying without bleeding or overly contrasted in its intensity, while other team colors -- Milwaukee green, Orlando blue, Golden State yellow -- prove visually fruitful. Facial features and uniform textures are sharp and revealing. Banding and macroblocking are present in visible, but usually not distracting, quantities. Occasional bursts of noise are also evident, though again rarely to any degree of bothersome excess.

2019 NBA Champions: Toronto Raptors Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Though limited to a two-channel presentation, the program's audio delivery is very impressive. The DTS-HD Master Audio encoded presentation uses its limited resources to maximum effect, spreading the front end as far as possible. Musical clarity is terrific and notes penetrate the stage with commanding intensity. There are a few support effects heard underneath music and during game clips but it's primarily music that defines the track outside of speech. Narration is firm and confident and overlaid commentary is clear and precise, even as it's been assembled from various sources. Speech images properly towards the center location.

2019 NBA Champions: Toronto Raptors Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This Toronto Raptors celebratory disc includes a handful of bonuses as outlined below. A DVD copy of the program is included but a digital code is not. This release does not ship with a slipcover. Unlike previous NBA championship discs, this one ships in a Blu-ray rather than DVD case.

• Kyle Lowry Moments & Bloopers (1080i, 2:34): A highlight reel featuring the Raptors' funny man having fun in game and behind the scenes.
• Kawhi Leonard's Top NBA Finals Plays (1080i, 0:57): A lightning-quick highlight reel featuring the Raptors former star in action.
• Toronto Raptors Top 5 Plays from the Season (1080i, 1:00): Clips from games against the Magic, Heat, Wolves, Suns, and Sixers.
• 2019 NBA Finals Game 6 4th Quarter Cutdown (1080i, 11:30): A condensed presentation of the clinching game's final quarter.
• Serge Ibaka Fundraiser (1080p, 2:18): The Raptors' star contributes to a fundraiser for ill children.
• Norman Powell Sign-Off (1080p, 1:22): Powell has fun in front of the camera after winning the title.
• Toronto Raptors Nostalgia (1080p, 1:50): A discussion of what the championship means to Toronto and Canada.

2019 NBA Champions: Toronto Raptors Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

2019 NBA Champions delivers a compelling and often thrilling watch. It puts together a complete picture of the Raptors' history and championship season, interweaving personal stories with on court action. The video and audio presentations are solid. The supplements are lightweights. Recommended.