Only four franchises have won three consecutive NBA Finals, and the Golden State Warriors have a chance to join a select group.

Golden State will appear in their fifth consecutive championship series, which begins on Thursday with Game 1 against the Toronto Raptors, who are making their debut in the final stage of the postseason.

The Warriors have been here before and are considered favourites to win it all, but Toronto will not go down without a fight.

Here, we take a look at what the Warriors need to do to three-peat.

Slow down Kawhi Leonard

No player has scored more points in this year's postseason than Leonard. Warriors star Stephen Curry ranks second with 437 points, a whopping 124 fewer than the Raptors superstar's total of 561.

Leonard is averaging 31.2 points per game and trails only injured Warriors star Kevin Durant and Houston Rockets guard James Harden in that category. Leonard is a threat to score inside and can create contact to get to the line.

The forward also has 159 rebounds in Toronto's postseason run, which is third among all players. His relentlessness and instinctive manoeuvres to pull down boards create second-chance looks for himself and his team-mates. He needs to be located and boxed out on every possession, as he can make the opposition pay if he is left alone.

If Golden State want to limit the Raptors' options, then they should start with Leonard.

Be consistent from three-point range

The Warriors have been this year's top team when it comes to shooting from beyond the arc. They are converting 37 per cent of their attempts from range, but they have been streaky at times.

Golden State have lost only four games so far in the postseason and they made fewer three-pointers than their opponents in three of them. The Raptors have held opposing teams to just 31.3 per cent shooting from deep and have proved to be elite when defending the perimeter. 

The Warriors normally have home-court advantage to help them out of shooting slumps, but this series begins at a hostile Scotiabank Arena.

Quality minutes from reserves

Golden State's rotation has deepened since its second-round series against the Rockets. Without Durant and DeMarcus Cousins, players like Kevon Looney and Jordan Bell have played more minutes.

While the Warriors may be hesitant to utilise 11 players like they did against the Portland Trail Blazers in the Western Conference Finals, injuries could force them to be creative with lineups.

Raptors reserves Fred VanVleet, Serge Ibaka and Norman Powell have been outstanding as of late. If they continue to perform, then Golden State's bench could struggle to match their production.