While older residents of the city will always love the Maple Leafs most, everyone remembers how it felt when the Raptors won the 2019 NBA championship. Kawhi Leonard’s series-winning buzzer-beater in the second round of playoffs, Fred VanVleet’s miraculous rise to one of the team’s best players following the birth of his son, and the championship parade that drew nearly 2 million people downtown have passed into city legend. But if you’ve been ignoring the team since then, or if you never paid attention to 2019 at all, here’s all you need to know to start watching Toronto’s best sports team.

(This claim may get me death threats. Please remember that the Blue Jays might keep qualifying for playoffs but haven’t won the World Series in three decades, and a dark wizard put a curse on the Leafs back in the ‘60s and it gets more powerful every year. Also, nobody cares about the Argos.)

43: Pascal Siakam – born in Douala, Cameroon, college New Mexico State, with Raptors since 2016. A forward-centre, Siakam is the only remaining member of our championship starting lineup and was the NBA’s Most Improved Player that year. He’s been an NBA All-Star and an All-NBA team selectee three times, and is one of the most flexible players on the team. He goes by the nickname ‘Spicy P.’

3: OG Anunoby – born in London, England, college Indiana, with Raptors since 2017. A small forward, OG Anunoby currently has the record for the most steals in the league this season, beating the runner-up by more than 10. He’s also known for his interesting fashion sense – if you see anyone wearing short shorts or Crocs (or both at once!), it’s him.

23: Fred VanVleet – born in Illinois, college Wichita State, with Raptors since 2016. A point guard who began his NBA career in the summer leagues after he was passed over in the NBA Draft, he’s since risen to be a 2022 All-Star. Nicknamed ‘Steady Freddy’ for his free throw and 3-point shooting abilities, he’s been an underrated and consistent presence on the team who’s improved more each year.

4: Scottie Barnes – born in Florida, college Florida State, with Raptors since 2021. A power forward, Scottie Barnes was picked in the first round last year and the fourth overall draft pick. He won the NBA 2022 Rookie of the Year award. At only 22 years old, he has a long and promising career in front of him, and will hopefully spend a lot of it in Toronto.

33: Gary Trent Jr. – born in Ohio, college Duke, with Raptors since 2021. A shooting guard and small forward. His father, Gary Trent, played in the NBA for nine years, and spent the 1998 season with the Raptors. He has one of the highest 3-point shot percentages in the league, at 41.8 percent.

25: Chris Boucher – born in St. Lucia, college Oregon, with Raptors since 2019. One of the few Canadian members of the Raptors, Boucher grew up in Montréal. A high-school dropout discovered in a community tournament, he was part of the Golden State Warriors’ 2018 championship team… and then immediately joined the Raptors and defeated GSW to win the championship again.

Some other important people to know:

Nick Nurse, head coach – he’s been working with the Raptors since 2013 and was head coach during our championship year. You can recognize him because he always looks like he’s recovering from the flu.

Masai Ujiri & Bobby Webster – these are the men responsible for managing the Raptors. Direct your anger at them when they trade away your favourite players, and remember to thank them when they get us into the playoffs.

Nav Bhatia – a local legend who calls himself the Superfan, this car dealership owner has owned a courtside seat since 1995 and has attended every single Raptors home game in Toronto. Through the Superfan Foundation, he sends thousands of kids to Raptors games.

Drake – having been the Raptors’ global ambassador since 2013, whenever he’s in the city you can be sure to spot him at one of his courtside seats right beside the Raptors’ bench. When the game isn’t going well, the silver lining can be watching his reactions.