Kyle Lowry is an American professional basketball player in the NBA with an outstanding decade-long legacy including helping the Raptors to 56 wins, which is the franchise highest victory in history. Besides being voted a four-time NBA All-Star as an Eastern Conference starter in 2015 and the All-NBA Third Team 2016, Kyle Lowry took home a gold medal at the 2016 Summer Olympics.
These are just a few of the many feats he has accomplished in his career. Here, you will see them all in addition to the story of his weight loss among many other interesting events in his life.
Kyle Lowry Career Stats and Injury
Born March 25, 1986, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the Point Guard began his career journey from Cardinal Dougherty High School basketball team. By the time he graduated from the high-school, Kyle Lowry was already considered a five-star recruit and listed as #6 point guard and #28 player overall in the country in 2004.
He committed to the Villanova University men’s basketball team. Lowry was named to the Big East All-Rookie team in his freshman season, as well as Philadelphia Big Five Rookie of the Year. He was also named to the All-Big East Second Team and as the First Team All-Big 5 during his sophomore season.
In all his 55 games with the Villanova, Lowry averaged a total of 18.5 points, 7.5 rebounds, 5.7 assists, and 3.6 steals. He debuted his professional career with the Memphis Grizzlies in 2006 after being picked by the franchise in that year’s NBA draft. Kyle signed a two-year rookie contract with the Grizzlies on July 9, 2006.
In his time with the Grizzlies, he suffered an injury during their opening night against the New York Knicks. His rookie season also ended after just 10 games due to a broken wrist he suffered against the Cleveland Cavaliers on November 21, 2006, but he had a successful surgery. In his stay with the team (2006-2009), he played in 140 games, scoring a total average of 22.8 points, 8.4 rebounds, 10.4 assists and 3.5 steals per game.
His high expectations of a long career with the Grizzlies was dashed when they picked another point guard over him in the 2007 NBA draft, thus he predicted his future would not be on the team.
Lowry joined the Houston Rockets (2009-2012) after being traded in a three-team deal involving the Orlando Magic. He had successful seasons with the Rockets, scoring career high points which solidified his reputation with the team. The baller recorded his first triple-double on March 20, 2011, with a career-high 11 rebound and 28 points in a win against the Utah Jazz.
In all his seasons with the Rocket, Lowry averaged a total of 44.5 points, 15 rebounds, 21.3 assists, and 4.7 steals. However, he fell out of his good relationship with the team’s head coach Kevin McHale and during a 2014 interview with ESPN, the point guard admitted he was successful with McHale, and would still be with the Rockets if he’d done it the right way. He apologized for his behavior, as the team pursued him as a free agent.
Also, Lowry missed game times due to a bacterial infection, giving room for his backup point guard Goran Dragić who played well as a starter and gained ground with the team. This prompted the Rockets’decision to trade Lowry in other to clear salary cap space and to gain draft picks.
Lowry joined the Toronto Raptors on July 11, 2012, to help upgrade the team. While that didn’t go as expected, the newly hired general manager for the Raptors, Masai Ujiri who encourage Lowry to push beyond just a $2-$3 million player. He also had received mentorship from others which boosted his morale to play better.
By the 2013/2014 season, The Raptors quickly emerged as one of the best teams in the Eastern Conference, with a franchise-best 48-34 record; many credited Lowry’s leadership and explosive play as a significant factor in their success. He entered the off-season as one of the NBA’s most coveted free agents, making the Raptors re-sign him to a four-year deal worth $48 million.
He continued his strong play into 2014-15 NBA season and became the team’s all-time leader in the triple-double on November 7, 2014.
As his contract with the Toronto Raptors ended in 2017, the franchise re-signed Lowry on July 7, 2017, for another three years in a contract worth $100 million. That year he moved up to fourth place on Toronto’s all-time scoring list as well as lead the team to several victories.
In all his 432 games with the Raptors, he recorded an average of 107.1 points, 29.2 points, 40.9 assists, and 9.2 steals. During the Raptors’ first-round playoff series against the Washington Wizards, in Game 2, Lowry had 13 points and a career playoff-high 12 assists, as the Raptors took a 2–0 lead for the first time in the history of the team with a 130–119 win.
Kyle Lowry was described as the ‘unsung hero” and “the best team player out of everybody, ” at the 2016 Summer Olympics. His playing style has often been compared to a pit bull or bulldog, with many citing his leadership, toughness, and instinct for winning games on the court as exemplary
Body Stat and Weight Loss Journey
The basketball player stands at a height of 6 feet 1 inch (1.83m) and weighs 93kg (205lbs). Lowry made national headlines when he entered the 2015–16 season looking slimmer and very well in shape for a game change. His weight loss journey became a hot topic as the photo of the Raptors’ point guard surfaced on Instagram on August 5, 2015. He explained that he wanted to be ready “for the 82 games and long playoff run.” He understood the fact that the old people get, the lighter they ought to be. He reportedly lost 15 pounds and dropped from 210 to 195, with only 4.3 percent body fat.
Who is His Wife?
Lowry and his wife Ayahna Cornish-Lowry has been together for decades; starting from when they were teenagers. They attended the same high school where Ayahna also had a successful basketball career and both played B-ball well into college. They are now married, are parents of a son Karter who was born in 2011.
The couple founded the Lowry Love Foundation in 2013 to impact positively on the lives of the underprivileged in Philadelphia and Toronto.
