Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan have been one of the best duos in the NBA for half of a decade now.
They look as dangerous as ever thus far in the 2017-18 season (especially DeRozan) as they are 29-12 and in 2nd place in the eastern conference.
The special partnership on and off the court took some time to come to fruition though as DeRozan shared in his appearance on the Woj Podcast by ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski:
“I don’t think I never said this publicly, but he will tell you. My first year with Kyle, me and Kyle didn’t say a word to one another. We didn’t speak. We didn’t have a conversation. We didn’t hang out. We didn’t go eat. We didn’t sit next to each another. Nothing. I didn’t have his phone number. Nothing. He came in, and I don’t know what it was like, if he knew he was just going to be moved again or if he was just a piece.
He kept his distance from everybody, everything. He really had that mindset coming in, like, “I’m not going to be here long.”
According to many rumors, Lowry was very close to being a New York Knick during the 2013-14 season, which would have made DeRozan pretty angry to say the least:
“Kyle was practically gone. I remember Kyle came in the locker room and said, “Man, it was nice playing with you. I’m out of here. I’m done. I’m going to New York.” And I remember my frustration came in, too, like, “Man, I’m not trying to go through this again. I don’t want to be one of them players that never makes the playoffs for five years in. If you’re getting traded, too, I’m going to ask for a trade, too.”
The Raptors dodged a bullet with that one and with the continued progression of DeMar DeRozan into an elite player, Lowry’s consistent play and leadership, their increased depth and the new offensive system that is predicated on more ball movement that the Raptors are excelling with, they have a greater chance this season than they have ever had in their franchise’s history to make the NBA Finals, or so it seems.
