Kyle Lowry is the most Greatest Toronto Raptor ….
Kawhi Leonard was the best single-season player, DeMar DeRozan sits atop some of the key all-time stat tallies, and Vince Carter has taken Canadian basketball to a place it likely never would have gotten to without him. But when you add all those things up—skill, longevity, impact—it’s hard to look past Kyle Lowry as the greatest Toronto Raptor.
“Arguably the best Raptor ever,” Raptors president Masai Ujiri said at a championship presser. “When you think of what Kyle has done, the growth of Kyle Lowry from when I got here to today is remarkable. There’s something about that guy, honestly, and if it wasn’t for that I would have traded his butt, I’m telling you. Because there’s something about him that’s all competition, that’s all winning.”
Lowry is the franchise leader in assists and steals—only DeRozan and Chris Bosh have scored more points, only DeRozan has played more minutes. He has made six All-Star appearances, the most by a Raptor. He made the All-NBA Third Team in the 2015-16 season and will have a very real shot at doing so again in 2019-20. Charges have only been tracked since the 2016-17 season, and he has 105 in that time, which only trails Milwaukee Bucks forward Ersan Ilyasova (128). If you want to get analytical about the matter, he leads the franchise in win shares and value over replacement player (VORP) and has consistently been at or near the top of the charts in real plus-minus (RPM).
Specifically looking at playoff history, Lowry leads the franchise in total points, assists, steals, and three-pointers. He’s second in rebounds behind Jonas Valanciunas. To top it all off, he’s got the crucial championship ring.