Lowry completes long climb to respectability | Sportsnet.ca
et there he was, an all-star game starter. That’s all that mattered. It took him nine years and three teams. He got beaten out by Mike Conley in Memphis and pushed aside by Goran Dragic in Houston and had to wait his turn behind Jose Calderon in Toronto, but he was finally where he always believed he belonged among the league’s stars, and now he was. “I thought I was as good as them,” he said of the years his peers were getting the recognition he felt capable of earning on his own, given the chance. “Of course every year I tried to get better and continue to grow as a player – but of course I thought I was as good as those guys. “Once the opportunity came [in Toronto] I took advantage of it. Before the opportunity came, I was just trying to figure out when the opportunity was going to come. I had some ups and downs along the way, but I knew if I kept working as hard as I knew I could work I’d get here.”
Lowry no longer an outsider | Toronto Sun
Lowry, looking visibly nervous, struggled early on, tossing up a couple of air-balls, but eventually he found his place, working the ball around for assists and even throwing down an extremely rare dunk on the way to a 10-point, eight-assist, four-steal evening in the East’s 163-158 loss to the West. “It was great,” Lowry said went it was over, his young son Karter sitting on his lap. I missed too many shots that I thought I should make (he went 4-for-13 from the floor) but I had fun, that’s all I care about.” After the shaky start, things came together, just like how Lowry’s NBA career has unfolded. The proud day for Lowry was the culmination of hundreds of hours of hard work. Of determination, maturation and self-improvement both on and off the court.
West Bests Kyle Lowry and the East | Raptors HQ
I’ve never been much of an All Star game enthusiast myself, but found myself tuning in to see how Kyle Lowry would perform as a starter. Right off the bat, it was evident that the nonchalant play all-around wasn’t suitable for Lowry’s skill-set as he got off to an 0-5 start from the field. Stephen Curry was dazzling us with his handle, LeBron James and John Wall were showing us their athletic prowess, but poor Kyle Lowry had no charges to take.
Kyle Lowry: The Ascension of an All-Star | Hardwood Herald
Lowry would be selected No. 24 by the Memphis Grizzlies in the 2006 NBA Draft, after two successful years at Nova. He also made a stop in Houston for a few years before finding his home in Toronto, where he has helped resurrect a franchise that has not been relevant since the turn of the century, and has been selected to his first All-Star Game this year as a starter for the Eastern Conference. Since entering the league, Kyle Lowry has had his share of ups and downs but has been able to not only sustain his career but rise to stardom using he same formula he used when it all began: Heart. Hustle. Toughness. Grit. Resilience.
Raptors Rise: The Growth of Basketball in Toronto | Baller Mind Frame
Back to my original point. Toronto isn’t short on people, it’s short on basketball interest, or at least it was. The playoffs last year put Toronto on notice that this team is not a joke. The seven game series against the Brooklyn Nets was one that showed heart and grit. Re-signing Kyle Lowry only shored up a sense of hope and optimism in the 416 (or if you’re a Drake follower it’s simply “the 6”). Drake signing on with the team too shows a level of celebrity involvement that the team hasn’t had before. The Los Angeles Lakers have Jack Nicholson. The New York Knicks have Spike Lee. Toronto needed someone at the games all the time that showed that this team was worth taking note of. The other big thing that has helped the Raptors this year is the continued mediocrity of the Leafs. Last year, the Leafs were sitting at home watching the playoffs, the Raptors were playing in the postseason, and the city took notice with their heart as well as their wallets. Team gear is flying off the shelves, season tickets are being sold in record numbers, and attendance is up. In 2006, the Raptors ranked 17th in the league with 17,056 fans per game in attendance. In 2011 that number dropped to 19th with 16,566 fans per game. The team is ranked 5th with 19,731 fans per game for 2015. When you consider the capacity of the Air Canada Centre is 19,800 for an NBA game that’s a pretty sterling number.
Should Toronto Raptors keep or trade first-round draft picks. | Raptors Rapture
For the right player(s), I’d cheerfully give up our first-rounders this season or next. Note I’m not including the Knicks’ 2016 first-rounder we acquired as part of the Andrea Bargnani trade. GM Phil Jackson has belatedly recognized what everyone else knew: the Knicks are a mess, and he needs to rebuild. They are odds-on to endure another dreadful season in ’15-’16, and their first-rounder will be a huge value. Bargs is being mentioned as a buy-out candidate by the thoroughly unimpressed Knicks. The always bloodthirsty New York press will have a field day if that happens. The Knicks will have lost a single-digit (#1?) draft pick in exchange for a player they had to pay to go away.
I can haz you linkz??! rapsfan@raptorsrepublic.com
