Why legendary raptor Kyle Lowry will be inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame
Especially when his Miami Heat beats the Denver Nuggets in the NBA Finals
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Will the man widely regarded as the greatest raptor of all be inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame if he hangs up his high-tops?
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Kyle Lowry definitely has a chance, and it will only increase if he helps the Miami Heat cap one of the most unlikely postseason runs in NBA history with a championship.
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Some might find that odd since Lowry’s Averaged 14.6 points, 6.3 assists and 4.1 rebounds While players don’t exactly shout great throughout his career, to understand his impact one has to delve into the advanced metrics such as: B. Value versus Substitutes, Win Shares and Box Plus/Minus.
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There you can see that Lowry regularly landed in the top 15 as a raptor. Nick Nurse, his former head coach, hailed Lowry as the best-performing player he’s ever coached, which is a big reason why what is often the smallest player on the pitch has had such a big impact on games. Lowry also averaged 17.5 points, 7.1 assists and 4.9 rebounds while playing with Toronto, a club he led to most Eastern Conference wins (and fourth-most in the NBA) from 2012-2021 . He was the second-best player on an NBA championship team and also won an Olympic gold medal as a member of the 2016 US team.
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He’s now in a smaller NBA role with Miami, but still had a few moments helping the Heat get this far.
Lowry is a six-time All-Star — that’s as many as all-time players like Joe Dumars, Tiny Archibald, Pau Gasol, Tommy Heinsohn and Tony Parker, among others — and almost every player with at least six All-Star selections has made it it in or will as soon as entitled. No player with at least six All-Star nominations and a title could not be immortalized, so adding another championship would only cement Lowry’s point.
The only current member of the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame to play out his prime years as a raptor is Vince Carter. Lowry would be second. Hakeem Olajuwon, the best player to ever play for Toronto, was inducted in 2008, played just one season for the club and by that time was a shell of his old self. Drafted to the team in 2017, Tracy McGrady made seven All-NBA games after leaving the franchise that drafted him. Kawhi Leonard, who had the best single season in Raptors history, will make it one day, but he’s been a nomad.
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What could be stopping Lowry from coming to Springfield, Massachusetts? For one, his numbers above. Also, he somehow only managed to win the All-NBA once, which, to put it simply, is a clear voter misstep. Lowry should have three or four of these on his resume. Also, a good comparison player, his friend and fellow ex-Raptor Chauncey Billups, has been an indoor finalist every year since 2018 but has yet to make it. Billups won just one title but was named Finals MVP that year three times All-NBA and two times All-Defense. So a second call would help Lowry a lot.
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Raptors Blog: Thompson calls Lowry a Hall of Famer
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We will never see another team like this Miami Heat team in the NBA Finals again
A number of players of a similar class to Lowry, but without a ring, are still awaiting the hall’s call. These include former Seattle high-flyer Shawn Kemp (three-time All-NBA, six-time All-Star, four-time MVP pick top 10 while Lowry made it just once), ex-Raptor Jermaine O’Neal (three-time All-NBA , six-time All-Star, Top 10 for MVP once when he was voted third), Amar’e Stoudemire (five-time All-NBA, six-time All-Star, Top 10 four-time MVP), and Walter Davis (twice All-NBA , six-time All-Star, two Top 10 MVP).
Basketball-reference.com puts Lowry’s Hall of Famer probability at 85.7% even without the second championship. They put Stoudemire’s probability at 72.9%, Kemp’s at 38.4%, O’Neal’s at 31.8%, and Davis’s at 30.9%.
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Both LaMarcus Aldridge and Joe Johnson have one more All-Star appearance than Lowry (and Aldridge made the All-NBA five times), yet Basketball-Reference.com values Lowry’s Hall of Famer opportunities far more highly as Aldridge and Johnson are both close behind. The chance of making it in one day is 51%.
The site lists Only 11 current players with better odds than Lowry, six of them former league MVPs.
In other words, bet Lowry will eventually be anchored. And expect plenty of Raptors fans to come out to celebrate when that day comes.
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https://torontosun.com/sports/basketball/nba/why-lowry-will-get-into-basketball-hall Why legendary raptor Kyle Lowry will be inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame
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