Superstar of the Miami Heat says he still plans to retire as a member of the Toronto Raptors.
Miami Heat guard Kyle Lowry plans to follow the trend of most NBA stars.
The future Hall of Famer has every intention of retiring as a member of the Toronto Raptors when he decides to call it quits. Lowry spoke on the issues with reporters after the Wednesday morning shootaround in Toronto.
“I’m definitely retiring as a Raptor,” Lowry said “… I will sign that day contract and I will retire as a Toronto Raptor. That’s just how it’s going to be. Unless I die before that.”
Lowry, who was drafted by the Memphis Grizzlies, is in the middle of of his 18th season. He also had stops with the Houston Rockets but had the greatest impact with the Raptors.
Alongside Kawhi Leonard, he helped lead them to the only championship in franchise history in 2019. Lowry has been a key cog in the Heat making the Eastern Conference finals two the last two seasons, including the NBA Finals last year.
Even at 37, he says he’s not quite ready to call it a career. Lowry, who is averaging 9.4 points and 4.3 assists, still thinks he can contribute to another successful playoff run with the Heat.
READ MORE:
Former Raptors star Lowry enjoying strong season in Miami ahead of return
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/70707965/1239731386.0.jpg)
But this season, Lowry has bounced back in a significant way, shooting a career-best 44.4% from three-point range, 11th in the NBA amongst players with at least 80 attempts.
Though Lowry no longer is the assist machine he once was, he still is averaging 4.3 a game while playing under 30 minutes a night for the first time since his initial season in Toronto, 2012-13. All this a few months shy of his 38th birthday.
The six-time all-star still leads the franchise in assists, three-pointers, steals, triple-doubles, win shares and value over replacement player, and was a topic of conversation ahead of Wednesday’s game.
“He did amazing stuff here in Toronto,” said Raptors head coach Darko Rajakovic after a spirited practice on Tuesday. “He did amazing stuff league-wide, and also he was on a team that won the championship. Obviously his legacy is a big one and he’s still a guy that plays extremely hard and extremely competitive. I have a lot of respect for guys like that,” Rajakovic said. “They just find the motivation every single day to come to work, practice or game, and bring their best.”
Dennis Schroder, the successor at point guard in Toronto to Lowry’s apprentice turned successor Fred VanVleet, feels similarly. Schroder and Lowry have had a number of memorable battles over Schroder’s first 10 years in the NBA. In much of that time they were playing on two of the best teams in the Eastern Conference, with Schroder on the Atlanta Hawks.
“I mean, I remember them Atlanta days when we went against each other and there was always competitiveness,” Schroder recalled. “Of course when he guards me and it’s getting competitive, we talk, you know, we’re getting into it, I mean, I kind of like that.”
This will be just Lowry’s fourth game in Toronto since a sign-and-trade sent him to the Heat. His April, 2022 return came more than two full years since his previous game in town thanks to the COVID-19 bubble and the Tampa season. Lowry received a raucous ovation in that one and then went out and had a double-double in a Miami win, capping his “special night” which had begun with him wearing his championship ring for a rare pre-game media session. “It’s not my home building anymore, but it’s a place I’ll always call home,” Lowry said.
Lowry scored 19 in his second return last November, a Raptors win, but came off the bench and was quiet in another Raptors win over the Heat last March.
Now back in a starting role, Lowry is thriving and showing little signs of his age. Expect him to show the Raptors what they’re missing on Wednesday night.
Leave a Reply