In the NBA today there is a short list of player who are superstars. Athletes who everyone recognizes as being the lynchpins of teams that can compete for a championship.
The ones whose will and skill draw the spotlight on the game’s biggest stages.
Guys like Kevin Durant, Chris Paul and Tim Duncan (when San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich lets him play 36 minutes a night in the playoffs), with a smattering of others who had the juice before (Kobe Bryant, Dwight Howard) or are on the cusp of being recognized as having it now (Stephen Curry, Anthony Davis).
Friday night LeBron James, who stands above all, rolls into the ACC with the Cleveland Cavaliers, winners of five straight. His presence alone was enough to attract high-profile friends and turn a 33-win team into championship contender.
But based on early-season performance, King James will only be the second-best player on the floor.
Top dog? That title will belong to the Toronto Raptors’ Kyle Lowry. The season is young, but he’s been one of the NBA’s best players.
It’s an amazing transformation. In the summer of 2012 he was a slightly pudgy malcontent who was acquired for what turned out to be the No. 12 pick in the 2013 draft—Stephen Adams of the Oklahoma City Thunder.
After a breakout season last year, Lowry earned a four-year, $48-million contract. It already seems like an incredible bargain.
If they were handing out early-season MVP awards Lowry would get his share of votes for leading the Raptors to a 15-4 start, and if his level of production continues it will be an affront if he fails to earn All-NBA honours at season’s end.
“Give the guy unbelievable credit,” Raptors GM Masai Ujiri said to me on Prime Time Sports with Bob McCown Thursday. “He stepped up as a person, he stepped up as a player. Everyone said if you give this guy this contract he’s going to come back fat, he’s going to do this, do that. It’s unbelievable. Kyle Lowry is an all-star. I could care less what anyone says—Kyle Lowry is an all-star.”
As remarkable as the Raptors’ start has been, Lowry’s performance is even more so. How good has he been?
If he can keep it up—and, yes, that’s a big if—Lowry is well on his way to putting together one of the best seasons by a point guard in recent NBA history.
Just the traditional stats put him in rare company. The only players in the NBA this season who can match or exceed each category of Lowry’s line of 20.6 points, 6.8 assists and 4.9 rebounds are James and Curry.
But Lowry is perhaps best appreciated by more advanced measures, which factor in a broader contribution than simply what shows up in the box score. Among guards this season Lowry’s PER (player efficiency rating) of 24.7 ranks fifth in the NBA and his win shares per 48 minutes mark of .251 is fourth.
According to Basketball-Reference.com, only three backcourt players in the three-point era (since 1979–80) have had a PER (player efficiency rating) of 24 or greater, a usage rate of 25 percent or better, and a WS/48 of .251 or more for a full season—Michael Jordan (eight times), Paul (five times) and Magic Johnson (four times).
That Lowry, Paul, Curry and James Harden are all on pace to do it this season probably speaks to the way the NBA is increasingly tilted towards guard play. But it also illustrates that the Raptors might have a true signature talent awakening in their midst.
Regardless, when it comes to Lowry’s performance to date, the eye test might be even more compelling.
There was the sequence in Boston when, with the game tied with 37 seconds left, Lowry stole the ball from Marcus Smart, fed DeMar DeRozan for dunk and then came down and delivered a jump shot with eight seconds left to seal the victory on his way to 35 points. Then there were the six points he scored in the final three minutes to survive against the Memphis Grizzlies, and the steal from Phoenix Suns guard Isaiah Thomas with 35 seconds left and the Raptors clinging to a two-point lead.
Lowry is winning games.
With DeMar DeRozan out for a month the Raptors looked vulnerable in losing in overtime to the hapless Los Angeles Lakers to start a three-game west coast road trip, and Lowry was part of the problem as he forced up a season-high 28 shots.
But when Ujiri’s phone buzzed late Sunday night after the Lakers’ loss, he was sure the Raptors were going to be just fine.
“[Kyle] texted me after the Laker game. [He said] ‘I shot the ball too much. We weren’t in sync. We will win in Sacramento and I will play better,’” Ujiri said. “Coming from the leader of your team, that’s the voice that you want to hear. That’s the confidence you want. He’s not over-confident, but he knows how to carry himself.”
Of course actions speak louder than words. Tuesday night against the Kings Lowry provided 27 points and 13 assists as the Raptors bounced back just as he’d predicted, and Wednesday—on the second night of a back-to-back, playing at altitude—he delivered a career-high 39 points against the Utah Jazz.
Friday night should be a raucous scene at the ACC. Not only is LeBron in town (along with Toronto’s Tristan Thompson) but some of the biggest names in the NBA will be in the building, as the likes of Charles Barkley, Magic Johnson and Tracy McGrady will be on hand to recognize the first anniversary of the passing of Nelson Mandela in a charity event organized by Ujiri.
It should put an extra charge into what will already be an electric atmosphere. December doesn’t get much better in the NBA.
And if form holds, on a star-studded night, Kyle Lowry will shine brightest.