Why we ought to give the future HOFer his flowers while he is still here
As the adage goes, you don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone. For a brief moment in time, Raptors fans were given no choice but to stare into the unknown and envision a world without Kyle Lowry. The whirlwind of a nine-game losing streak, talks of a rebuild in the media, and rumours of a frugal real estate transaction that prompted this collective thought coalesced on a March 24th game versus the Denver Nuggets. In a game that featured the first-ever all-female broadcast crew (!), anyone with a discerning eye could tell that Kyle sensed the aura of finality. He posted a career-best plus-minus rating, was teary-eyed stepping off the court, and Drake gave him an impromptu farewell during post-game interviews. Though the trade deadline passed with Lowry remaining on the team, this may be his last season in Toronto. Given how quickly narratives in the NBA emerge and vanish, and how short our collective attention spans are, we must take some time to show Kyle the same unconditional reverence that he extended to us, while he is still here.
During his eight-season tenure with the Raptors, Kyle Lowry has enmeshed himself in the cultural fabric of Toronto, in a way that seldom a professional athlete has been able to do in their adopted homes. On the court he has vaulted to the top of the franchise leaderboard in three-pointers made, assists, steals, and win shares, all while earning league-wide respect exemplified through his six All-Star appearances. Off the court, he has spoken reverentially about the city that he has come to call home and has consistently given back to the community through the Lowry Love Foundation, and the Lowry’s Thanksgiving Assist initiative, both designed to help Toronto’s disadvantaged combat food insecurity. The “greatest” Raptor distinction has justifiably been a source of contention, however, it is unquestionable that Kyle Lowry has been the most important Raptor in franchise history.
By no stretch of the imagination was any of this pre-ordained. Kyle Lowry was an undersized late first-round draft pick who fought tooth and nail to establish himself as a starting-caliber point guard, only to be displaced by Mike Conley and Goran Dragic on consecutive teams. He arrived in Toronto as a basketball pariah, was stuck behind Jose Calderon in a bench role, and was almost a New York Knick in 2013 if not for an ill-advised James Dolan trade veto. At the beginning of his ascent, he was the third option in an inefficient offense hindered by Rudy Gay’s isolationist, volume shooting tendencies. When the keys of the franchise were finally given to him and DeMar DeRozan in the 2013-2014 season, he notoriously had his first-round series-clinching shot rejected by Paul Pierce. Despite the adversity, and insurmountable odds stacked against him, Kyle Lowry persevered, and we wholeheartedly loved him for it.
He is not a magnetic high-flyer like Vince Carter, and he does not have machine-like precision and intensity like Kawi Leonard. Yet, his unorthodox, methodical style of play captivates the fanbase much like the stars that he followed or overlapped with, while aggravating everyone he played against. Kyle’s comparative advantage-seeking antics are a source of meta-entertainment, a game within the game itself, only matched by the craftiness and belligerence of Chris Paul. It is hard to withhold a smile when seeing him bait his opposition into inane turnovers at the most opportune times. His near-masochistic enthusiasm for taking charges is equal parts enthralling and concerning. Even when the shenanigans go too far, like crawling through the outstretched legs of George Hill, or taking a charge against James Harden in crunch time of an All-Star Game, you could not help but chuckle. His superb basketball IQ, persistent work ethic, and exuberant personality calcified into an on-court entity that all generations of Raptors fans could enjoy and identify with.
Most memorably, he was the linchpin of the 2019 championship run, where he solidified his place in the pantheon of cultural figures whose hearts outmatched their stature (Allen Iverson, Martin St. Louis, 42 Dugg). Despite his feelings of betrayal after the DeMar trade, he wholeheartedly embraced the emotional leader role with pride and played sensational basketball when necessary. His steal on Khris Middleton to put Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals out of reach, his deep three to close out Game 1 of the NBA Finals, and his eleven-point outburst in the title-clinching game, unified the country in folklorish ways and simultaneously washed away memories of futile playoff runs past.
It would be disheartening for Kyle’s last season to be played out in a near vacant arena in Tampa, sans the vocal, fervent support of the fanbase that grew to love him. However, with most other aspects of our lives in the present global health climate, we must show our appreciation from a distance, and look back fondly on the unbridled passion he plays with, the memories he has provided us with, and a legacy solidified.