Kyle Lowry should be first Raptor great to finish in Toronto
Toronto has seen Kyle Lowry at his worst, they have seen him at his best. It has certainly been a journey for the kid from North Philly, beginning with fighting for a place in the starting lineup ahead of Jose Calderon, to now having just guided his Raptors to their first NBA title.
And they are most certainly his Raptors. With seven seasons under his belt in Toronto and DeMar DeRozan and Jonas Valanciunas in the rearview, he is firmly the longest-tenured Raptor. He has scored more playoff points than anyone in franchise history, and was first to lift the Larry O’B at the trophy ceremony for a reason.
“Arguably the best Raptor ever, when you think of what Kyle has done,” team president Masai Ujiri said during an impassioned, inspirational speech at OVO Athletic Centre on Tuesday. “The growth of Kyle Lowry from when I got here to today is remarkable. And there’s something about that guy, honestly, and I’m telling you, if it wasn’t that I’d have traded his butt, I’m telling you, because there’s something about him that’s all competition, that’s all winning.”
Lowry is as cerebral a player as there is in the league, but he is also all heart. That’s how you become the soul of the team. A part of that soul may have been lost when his best friend DeRozan was traded, but he still came out of the gate strong, scoring and assisting at a rate that seemed beyond him entering the year. But it’s clear now that things got ugly closer to the trade deadline, and perhaps he lost another bit of that heart that beats ever so proudly on his sleeve when rumours emerged that he may be on his way to Memphis.
“If I remember right, I think we had reached a point where you could tell that there was little bit of just not being comfortable with the team and I thought that was the right time to address it, especially because it was around the trade deadline,” Ujiri said.
“The meeting lasted about two hours and it wasn’t easy. It’s always a difficult meeting when you’re both direct and truthful to each other. Kyle is the same way I am. It’s funny, DeMar always used to say that. But we resolved it.”
Similarities increase the probability of a clash, but that along with familiarity may have helped Ujiri recognize that something was amiss. Ujiri revealed that “everybody” around the team recognized a different Lowry after the conversation, that Toronto’s leader himself felt more comfortable. Toronto’s assist rate and three-point shooting skyrocketed after the trade deadline, and while much of that was attributed to the arrival of Marc Gasol, just as is the case with the most fascinating aspects of Lowry’s game, it’s hard not to look back and consider the immeasurable value of having the team’s heart and soul back fully engaged.
There are many factors that contribute to a championship and Kawhi Leonard’s performances were certainly the loudest, but Lowry’s best playoff run certainly stands tall among them. In some ways, it just felt right to see Lowry light up the Golden State Warriors in the first half of the clinching Game 6. Like choosing the torch bearer at the Olympics to light the final flame, there was no one better suited for the task.
“To see him have that game in Game 6, you have no idea what it meant to me,” Ujiri said. “You have no idea what it meant to everybody to see him lift that [trophy]. He did it throughout the playoffs. He lifted this team.”
The moments that came along the way, the purity of his joy upon defeating the Bucks in the East Finals, then again when winning the championship will go down in Raptors lore because his wait, the criticism he took along the way, the unfair narratives thrown his way were very much a reflection of what the city and country has suffered through as a basketball nation.
And now it’s on to the future, one that will stand on the shoulders of the Vince Carter era, the Lowry and DeRozan era, as well as the Kawhi era. Ujiri confirmed he has plans for whether that last era on the list is one that lasts just one season or more, but what has become abundantly clear is that Lowry, despite not starting in Toronto, should finish here.
The Dirk Nowitzkis, Kobe Bryants, Tim Duncans, John Stocktons and Reggie Millers of the world who represented one franchise for the entirety of their careers are extremely rare, but Lowry’s impact on Toronto and Canada deserve that sort of recognition. He will undoubtedly have his jersey retired one day, perhaps even a statue. But Lowry represents an opportunity to correct another wrong this franchise has had for too many years: recognizing a former player either as a member of the enemy or when it’s way past due.
Over the course of this postseason, the Raptors recognized the likes of Carter, Tracy McGrady, Chris Bosh and Damon Stoudamire. None of those greats finished their career as a Raptor (that could still change for Carter).
Lowry can be the first. He is a Raptor and he made them a champion. The latter can never be erased, but with his legacy cemented, the former should remain in place for as long as his body will let him.
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