Basketball IQ. Unless the game featured LeBron or CP3 or a select few others he was usually the smartest player on the floor. He controlled the flow of the game, was selective with his decision making, didn’t force stupid plays, played efficiently and raised the game of everyone around him. He didn’t pad his own stats to make himself look good, he only did things that impacted the end score.

2nd highest reason is hustle. He gave 100% every game

There’s a reason hes our franchise goat

He was very good at almost everything, including being a very good defender in his prime.

He almost always made the right plays and while he wasn’t geared up to be the primary option, he was exactly who you wanted as a PG.

This is actually because of team advantage. You see RAPM is a metric where the first three letters are RAP, and in Toronto the team is RAPTORS so you get the first three for free

just strong and very good on both ends

Players who do well in advanced plus/minus stats That you typically wouldn’t expect usually have a combination of skills that don’t appear clearly in the box score unless you know how to look for them.

1. They usually win the possession battle. For small guards like Lowry and CP3, this was high steal rates, high charge rates, and then low turnovers. This is giving their teams a couple extra possessions a game, which is basically worth a few points a game, which is huge. For bigs this is offensive/defensive rebounding
2. They’re usually good to great defenders. Defense is very difficult to show up in the box score but they’ll either have good pure box numbers like steals and blocks or they’ll be good team defenders who can’t get abused on switches and don’t have bad defensive breakdowns. I think Lowry fits this bill as one of the better guard defenders at the point guard position.
3. There are connective high feel players on offense who don’t necessarily always rack up box score assists but make the right play that is conducive to high-level offenses. This is basically your Derek White, draymond green types. They might not be the best pure playmakers that pound the rock but they make the right pass. They can create for others and they create high-value opportunities for three-point
4. They typically can provide spacing. Kyle Lowry was one of the best three-point shooting guards of that era. That allows a lot more floor shooting space for his teammates. This can also be vertical spacing from bigs who give dunk threats.

So Lowry pretty much hit on all of these, which made him an advanced stat king, but on paper he looked like he was just pretty good not necessarily a top 10 player of the decade.

The thing with these players is that often times they cannot be the main guy. You still need your primary iso creators but these guys are often the best #2 or #3 guys to have on all championship teams.

He was asstounding 

I respect that dude. One of the last actual PGs. Not just a shooting guard who was tasked with bringing the ball up the floor. Love today’s game but I do miss 5 clearly defined roles, rather than just 2 3 point shooters, 2 wing defenders and a rim protector who just stands in a corner on offense

Point guards used to be the smartest and most complete basketball player on the team. He was a product of that version of the game who was able to excel as that type of dude despite Curry’s impact on how teams are constructed. And he didn’t have to resort to being a dirty piece of shit like Chris Paul to do so. It says a lot about his character and skill. He gets to retire with honor as a champion, and with the love of a city, rather than being forced off of a team for being a nuisance. Much respect to Kyle. His number retirement ceremony is gonna be loud as hell in that arena.

A top five guard in drawing charges 

Big trunks

Nick Nurse used to stick this sick mfkr at center and he’d DARE people to barrel into him for an offensive foul. The dude had no fear and no conscious, at exactly 6 feet tall. Also was the best player on the floor in a Finals closeout game, and Steph Curry was on the other team…

He was just a very smart player. He was always in the right position to draw the charge and made the right plays on offense more often than not.

Strong, had good court vision, played defense, and could get hot quick.

I loved his play in the game they won the finals in. It felt like you were waiting on him to start playing bad because that seemed to be a bit of a narrative around him. And he just never slowed down that game. It was amazing

From 2016 to 2020 >50% of his FGA were 3s and he was a damn good shooter at 38%. Most of his assists were layups/dunks so he was creating high level, easy buckets. 

He also got a lot of steals/deflections/OREB/charges which helped his team win the possession battle in his mind and he also had a near 3:1 A/TO ratio in that span to further drive that point home. 

Kyle was the best player on some of the best non-title winning teams of the decade. He didn’t really have any weaknesses as a player either.

He was one of the best high volume three point shooters in the league, a great defender, an excellent and smart passer, and an unbelievable rebounder for his size.

He is a winner, he just hates losing, will do anything to win.

Stats can’t quantify the Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan bromance and the effect that has on both of their effort levels in any given game and the team as a whole when they are in a funk.

Underrated part of his game was that he could fucking shoot

The GROAT

A super underrated skill for point guard is just “not turning the ball over” and Lowry was elite at this. It is not flashy or even visible on the stat sheet but it really matters because of how much time the ball is in there hands.

One reason he looked so much better by RAPM than other metrics is that he was elite at off the ball play on both ends, which doesn’t show in the stat sheet and is sometimes ignored by eye test. Deadly at helping on drives and great at staying in motion off the ball. A lot of PGs conserve energy in those areas of the game and so are extremely weak in those areas. Lowry’s ability above replacement level really good there.

Also, the fact that he was a great catch and shoot player and switchable defender helped him not take anything away from his teams on either end.

Court vision, leadership, instincts, clutch in big moments

There’s value in quick decision making and keeping the ball moving to the right person.

Some players never learn how to make the right decision.  Some players understand the right decision but take too long to figure it out.  Guys like Lowry and CP3, even when they’re not scoring, understand quickly what the right play is and move the team into it.

That plus efficient shooting and great defense. 

Coaches always talk about players who do the little things and fans pay zero attention to the little things and just focus on the ball the whole time.

Here’s an old compilation of players bigger than him trying to body him in the post

https://youtu.be/IzCifCX-R2w

he was a very good player on a raptors team that won a lot during the regular season

A lack of bad decision making, “give an inch, take a mile” kind of player.

He was on par with CP3 in his prime

The anti Jaylen Brown

Lowry reminds me of a successor to John Stockton. He was efficient. He was a really good passer. He had good handles. He was a good defender. He was a plus at everything. He just didn’t choose to score much of the time.

I loved watching him play.

Lowry is an optimal #2 guy for all sorts of championship teams. 2019 raptors duh, 2020 lakers… Davis’ presence next to Howard in the paint i think was irreplaceable. 2021 bucks for sure, 2022 warriors very likely. Arguably any championship team. Because his playstyle doesn’t inhibit any of the superstar’s playstyle. He doesn’t need the ball, and he isn’t clueless off the ball either.

Ball IQ.

Almost always the smartest player on the floor.

Always knew what his team needed in any given situation.

Tenacity.

Lowry is the definition of hustle, he’s just like Butler where he will just outwork anyone on the court

I remember when he was known as a massive playoff dropper. Happy he got rid of that reputation.

I got into huge arguments when he was in his prime arguing he was better than Derozan. If only I knew about this at the time lol

The butt

 big booty

Is there some fine fragrance in r/nba for raps this season or am i early

Dont forget he was also number 1 on the. Clutch, Hustle, Efficiency, Endurance, Key contributions, Scoring metric as well also. Lowery was BIG on the CHEEKS metric.

he got the whole package

He knew how to use his booty. Seriously. It’s one of the most overlooked skills by nephews these days. And his BB IQ was elite

Fat Lowry in Houston was nasty. 

He was a great point guard and a floor general for the team, good with the ball, shooting 3s, passing, rebounding perfect to have as a Franchise PG.

The thicc multiplier in the model gave him a huge advantage

He was good at everything

Health

It’s simple really.

Basketball skill probably

He was like a way better Derrick White.

He was thickems

KLow was one of those small guards who can play way above his height. He had great interior defense, could drive thru the lane, was good for at least one charge per game, and was the guy that keeps everyone organized on the floor. Jalen Brunson reminds me of watching KLow back in the day.

two way floor general with 100% hustle, I miss my goat

Excellent defender, secure ball handler, and a great decision maker. I didn’t appreciate him until the championship run. He was so good. J Kidd like

If the Chris Paul to Lakers trade had not been vetoed, Rockets would have been able to spam Lowry/Pau Gasol pick and roll.

He makes Luka look like a saint compared to how much he bitches to the refs

Great playmaker, taking charges, tough defender, 3 level scorer and ft shooter. A great leader.

I’d suggest this video which analyzes all the little things he does that don’t show up on the box score

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lyCYzSrYp-k&pp=ygUcbGl0dGxlIHRoaW5nIGtpbmcga3lsZSBsb3dyeQ%3D%3D

Thick

I wasn’t gonna click on the thread, cause I knew the ASS comments were gonna be here. It did not disappoint me, glad I did lol.

He was a great passer. Not in the way that put in him in a lot of highlight reels but he hit shooters right in the pocket to get shots off perfectly.

He knew how to draw a charge. Very well rounded player and decent enough at 3 in an era where it was just getting big to shoot 3s in volume.

He is also a great leader in the locker room. Easy going and honest. The kinda guy you wanna see succeed. Really happy to see him become a champion in 2019.

Kyle Lowry was strong and played good defense. Also athletic and good body control, even though he doesn’t look like it at all.

his booty would be a help defender, occupying the space that cutters would usually take and therefore taking away that option.

Also, very distracting for a few guys in the league who… like to switch it up, let’s put it that way.

Dang, ever since the thread with the ‘00-‘08 rapm thread it has really taken off. (I also spent like 15 minutes on the site and found it fun to see some of the old/forgotten names on the list. Michael Kidd-Gilcrest, Thabo Sefolosha, freaking Downtown Freddie Brown?!?)

A PG like Lowry, Nash, Kidd or CP3 can be a top 5 player in the league for a bunch of regular seasons but in the playoffs it’s hard to be small and dominate (what Brunson did was truly amazing), so you end up with a guy who is actually the 15th-20th “best” player in the league, but if you’re talking regular season wins he’s top 8 like Lowry was for a number of years, top 5 like CP3 or Kidd, or even #1 for a few years like Nash was.

Embiid did say Kyle is paid to be a cheerleader.

Dude was smart. Wouldn’t be surprised if he was just as smart as Cp3 and LeBron or just slightly below.

I’d advise anyone teaching or learning the game to watch clips of Kyle Lowry on defense, in particular when he switches onto a big man and they attempt to post him up. Even guys like Embiid would struggle to back him down. A masterclass in leverage, positioning, and using his lower-body strength to deny deep catches.

Had that dog in him

Having no fear and taking charges was something I’ll never forget.

Finals g6 he told all the haters to stfu in the first 11 minutes

The dog was in that man

Das Butt

He’s an all-arounder and is unselfish unlike a lot of prime guards these days. He’s a team player.

Playing in the Eastern conference when it was extremely weak.

Kyle was always mid. Extremely overrated by his own fans.