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Top 5 Moments of Kyle Lowry's Raptors Career
Kyle Lowry spent 23,956 minutes of his life on the basketball court for the Toronto Raptors.
That's nearly 400 hours or 16 and a half days he spent doing everything he could to will Toronto to a win each and every night. He turned a downtrodden franchise heading for a rebuild into one of the most well-respected organizations in the NBA and eventually led Toronto to the pinnacle of the basketball world.
Can you distill all those moments into just a handful of the greatest? There are too many to pick from because for as incredible as he was on the court, his off-court antics both with the media and his teammates are equally iconic. And yet, we'll try.
Honorable Mention: OG OH MY
OG Anunoby's miracle series-saving game-winner in Game 3 of the 2020 playoffs never would have happened if not for Lowry. Before Anunoby ever got a chance to save the day with his miraculous three, Lowry had to come up with a plan to throw a cross-court pass over the 7-foot-6 Tacko Fall. Instead of standing right on the sideline as he normally would for an inbound pass, Lowry took a step back, realizing he had some extra room without fans in attendance due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It was a savvy decision from the 6-foot guard who created just enough space to loft a high-arcing ball over Fall's outstretch arms and perfectly into Anunoby's shooting pocket.
5. All-Star Game Charges
Lowry taught Toronto how to watch basketball. For him, it wasn't about the box score numbers, the points per game, or the gaudy stats, it was about the wins. Every night he put his body on the line for his team, doing the little things no matter the stakes to give his team the best chance to win.
Then, on February 16, 2020, Lowry showed the basketball world how the game should be played. In a meaningless All-Star Game, Lowry took not one, but two fourth-quarter charges, first on Kawhi Leonard and then on James Harden as he tried to will Team Giannis to victory.
4. 30-Point Comeback
Lowry's biggest impact for the Raptors almost always came with the strangest lineups. He had a special ability to make those around him better, turning second units into real difference makers for Toronto. No game better showed that than the 30-point comeback he led against the Dallas Mavericks on December 22, 2019, when he, Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, Terence Davis, Chris Boucher, and Malcolm Miller brought Toronto all the way back for a miracle come-from-behind victory, the biggest in franchise history.
3. Game 4 & 5 vs. Brooklyn
Let's go back to the beginning for a moment, back to when that underdog 2013-14 Raptors team looked like they were on the verge of getting outclassed by a veteran Brooklyn Nets team in the 2014 playoffs. Down 2-1 in the series, Toronto's offense went silent in the fourth quarter. For the better part of three minutes, the Raptors couldn't do anything offensively, as they clung to a four-point lead.
Then Lowry took over.
He worked a pick-and-roll with Amir Johnson, went right at Kevin Garnett, and floated a hook shot over the Hall of Fame big. Forty seconds later, he nailed a pair of free throws as Toronto hung on to even the series.
Two nights later, he came back with a playoffs career-high 36 points in Game 5 to give Toronto a 3-2 series lead.
2. Game 7 vs. Miami
With the 2015-16 season hanging in the balance, Lowry saved his biggest game for the biggest moment.
After dropping 36 points in a Game 6 loss against the Miami Heat, Lowry showed no signs of slowing down in Game 7. He carved up Miami to the tune of 35 points, nine assists, and seven rebounds as he and DeMar DeRozan carried Toronto onto the Eastern Conference Finals and a date with LeBron James.
1. Game 6
There was no bigger moment in Lowry's career than Game 6 of the 2019 NBA Finals.
After watching his would-be game-winner blocked in the dying seconds of Game 5 against the Golden State Warriors, Lowry came out determined to end the Finals in Oakland. He opened the game with 11 straight points for Toronto en route to a near-triple-double with 26 points, 10 assists, and seven rebounds to earn the organization its first Larry O'Brien trophy.
Further Reading
Fred VanVleet credits Kyle Lowry's mentorship as he nears Raptors' 3-point record
Raptors make it 5 straight wins, inching closer to clinched playoff berth with victory over Magic
Kyle Lowry says he knows Nick Nurse is scheming up something special for him
