The Toronto Raptors are heading to their first NBA Finals and they’ll be playing in it without one of the franchise’s all-time greats.
If you can recall correctly, 2009 first round pick DeMar DeRozan was shipped to San Antonio for a dude who goes by Kawhi Leonard. DeMar spent nine seasons in red, white and black, made four All-Star appearances and quickly became one of the city’s most beloved athletes. Now, he’ll be watching his former teammates battle for the city’s first big four championship since 1993, and while you can imagine he would give anything to be out there himself, you can count on him cheering on former teammate and well known close friend Kyle Lowry.
The Raptors point-guard was asked about his communication with DeRozan through the team’s playoff run and shared some touching words about their friendship. Lowry also noted that DeRozan has texted everyone he “has a relationship with” to let them know how happy he is for the team.
The former on-court duo’s relationship sparked when Lowry joined DeRozan and the Raptors in 2012. They would go on to lead Toronto to five consecutive postseason appearances from the 2013-14 – 2017-18 seasons, including an East Conference Finals berth in 2016. Their friendship has been on full display throughout the years, especially with our very own Cabral Richards.
Lowry's comments about his best friend come just days after the latter shared an… interesting Instagram post. We’ll let you see it for yourself.
We’ve seen some former Raptors make appearances at Scotiabank Arena this postseason and you can only imagine the ovation DeRozan would receive if he showed up in the crowd for Game 1.
(H/T The Undefeated)
