DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry have helped the Toronto Raptors become a fixture in the Eastern Conference playoffs, but they haven’t always been such excellent teammates.
While appearing on The Woj Pod, DeRozan said he and Lowry barely had contact with each other during the 2012-13 season after Toronto acquired the point guard.
“My first year with Kyle, me and Kyle didn’t say a word to one another. We didn’t speak. We didn’t have a conversation, we didn’t hang out, we didn’t go eat. We didn’t sit next to each other. Nothing. I didn’t have his phone number. Nothing.”
That’s a stunning revelation from somebody who now considers Lowry “the very definition of a friend.”
DeRozan said Lowry kept his distance from the team but “all the madness” of the 2013-14 campaign is what facilitated a relationship. That season, the Raptors traded former No. 1 overall pick to the New York Knicks and sent Rudy Gay to the Sacramento Kings.
The front office put the franchise in the hands of DeRozan and Lowry, and the duo guided Toronto to an Atlantic Division title. Including that year, the Raptors have reached the playoffs in four straight seasons and are headed for the fifth consecutive appearance.
Not bad for a couple superstars who previously had no relationship.