NBA History: 5 best Toronto Raptors players since 2000

#2 Kyle Lowry

Toronto Raptors v Detroit Pistons

After trading for Kawhi Leonard in the summer of 2018, the Toronto Raptors have further placed all their eggs in one basket, banking on all or nothing in the 2019 NBA playoffs, by trading for Marc Gasol at the trade deadline last month.

A huge part of those moves is 32-year-old point guard Kyle Lowry. He has been the engine and the the heart of the Toronto Raptors in the last five seasons.

When Kyle Lowry is dominant, the Toronto Raptors have usually benefited in the win column. He is often taking charges in the defensive end of the court, directing his teammates like a player-coach and playing with intensity.

However, at 32, he is not a spring chicken and back ailments have cost him games this season. It is clear Raptors management are giving him all the help he needs to push this franchise into a level of success it has never before reached before his time is up.

The end game is a hopeful berth in the NBA Finals in 2019. Since arriving in Toronto via trade from Houston in 2012, Lowry has become perhaps the Raptors best point guard ever.

Lowry is fourth all-time in scoring as a Raptor with 8,527 points, he is second with 3,449 assists, first in steals with 733, and first in three-pointers made with 1,204. Under his leadership on the court, 2019 will be Toronto ’s sixth consecutive year in the playoffs.