If this was Kyle Lowry’s final press conference as a Raptor, it was extremely Toronto.
He called him on his cell phone
If Wednesday night was Kyle Lowry’s final game with the Raptors, it was a memorable one.
The Raps are a mess. They’re 18–26, good for 11th place in the Eastern Conference and three games out of its final playoff spot—not to mention the reports of internal discord. Toronto isn’t a title contender, and so with the trade deadline on Thursday, it’s rumored to be interested in parting with two starters: Lowry and Norman Powell.
The Raptors snapped a nine-game losing streak with a win on Wednesday night, though, behind a stellar performance from Lowry. He recorded a modest eight points, nine assists and five rebounds, but his plus-42 net rating was the highest of his career, highest by a player this season and the second-highest in Raptors history.
Just as noteworthy, though, was what happened during his postgame press conference. Lowry was in the middle of answering questions from reporters when his phone buzzed with a FaceTime request from Toronto’s own Drake.
Drake offered to be Lowry’s “translator” but Lowry was having none of it.
It was a moment of levity during what had to be a difficult night for Lowry. Faced with the uncertainty of the trade deadline, Lowry looked glum as he walked off the court and through the tunnel after the game.
“It was kind of weird tonight not knowing what the next step would be, just with understanding there are things that could possibly be done,” he told reporters. “It was different tonight, for sure.
“I mean, who knows what’s going to happen? No one knows what’s going to happen. But it was definitely, for sure, different.”
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A good song
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