After 9 productive years with the Toronto Raptors, Kyle Lowry elected to join the Miami Heat in free agency. Lowry achieved multiple All-Star selections with the Raptors, as well as winning the 2019 NBA championship.
One of the biggest things that influenced Kyle Lowry’s decision to join the Miami Heat was his friendship with Jimmy Butler. Kyle Lowry and Jimmy Butler have reportedly been talking about teaming up for quite some time prior to Lowry’s decision.
Even with their friendship aside, the two have a lot of things in common in terms of on the court play. An article by Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald featured some words from Heat coach Erik Spoelstra about the duo, stating that it’s “just about winning” for both of them, while adding that both have an “intuition on what’s necessary for the team”.
Probably the bottom line with them, particularly where they are right now in their careers, it’s just about winning. They read situations. A great feel and an IQ, intuition on what’s necessary for the team.
When Jimmy was first with us, he was doing a lot of playmaking and getting other guys going and giving them confidence and I think you’re seeing something very similar with Kyle. The level of confidence our guys have, you can’t put a number to it or analytic to it. It’s tangible, though. And that’s a big credit to Kyle playing unselfishly, getting off the ball, getting the ball to them in spots where they can be really confident and comfortable.
It’s not about stats, not about how many numbers they can put up. They just want to win. And they’ll do whatever it takes to win.
The duo is clearly not focused on individual accolades and honors, preferring team success. As Erik Spoelstra mentions winning isn’t always about “how many numbers they can put up”, and both Jimmy Butler and Kyle Lowry are known as players who are willing to play the role that the team needs.
It remains to be seen how far the Miami Heat will go this season, but they have had a great year thus far, and are 2nd in the Eastern Conference with a record of 7-2. Hopefully, their good play continues, and perhaps we will see them get far in the playoffs after a disappointing first-round exit during the 2020-21 season.
