Kyle Lowry shoots the ball and answers the phone at the same time during the media day at the Air Canada Centre.Peter Llewellyn
Kyle Lowry won't say how much weight he lost this off-season or share the specifics of his workout regimen, but signs of his hard work are clear to see.
The starting point guard was the talk of Toronto Raptors media day on Monday, when he appeared noticeably slimmer than last season. He shrugged off questions about how he reshaped his six-foot frame, but admitted that he devised a plan to be something new, something better, and that the bitter second half of last season added fuel to his fire.
"Sometimes you get older, you've got to change your body a little bit," 29-year-old Lowry said. "And I'm not a young pup no more, but it's just about the future for me. It's about being healthy."
While tales of weight loss and muscle building are a dime a dozen at NBA media days, seeing this particular point guard trimmed down turned heads. A photo of Lowry and some other NBA players after a workout appeared on Twitter this summer, and the Internet buzzed with chatter. Fellow backcourt mate DeMar DeRozan joked that Lowry is "more aerodynamic," and says the photo was so surprising that he insisted Lowry fly out to visit him in Los Angeles. Patrick Patterson texted Lowry to confirm the picture hadn't been doctored.
"Then I saw him in the locker room and I was like 'I've never seen this before. You've always been this short, chunky, bulldog fat kid that I've known since my first year in the NBA. To see you like this, it's like the evil twin brother,'" Patterson said at media day, chuckling. "It's so weird. I'm happy for him; he says he feels great, and I'm proud of him."
Lowry began the 2014-15 season with a bang, fresh off signing a big four-year contract extension that summer. He was the toast of the league in November and December, scoring at will. Before the all-star break, he was averaging career highs in points (19.8), rebounds (4.9), assists (7.5) and steals (1.62), and was ranked 18th in NBA scoring and sixth in assists. Much of that time he was heroically shouldering the backcourt load while DeRozan was sidelined with a groin injury.
The point guard's production tailed off after the break, and then a back injury sidelined him. Upon returning, he averaged 12.3 points, 5.5 rebounds and 4.8 assists in the Washington Wizards' four-game sweep of Toronto in the playoffs – a devastating, second straight first-round exit.
Coach Dwane Casey noticed that Lowry's conditioning had suffered after the injury, since he was unable to train much before the playoffs began. The two discussed it at season's end, and Lowry knew he needed to shed pounds.
"Kyle put his nose to the grind and did that all himself," Casey said. "He's the one who had his own trainer. He had his own regimen that he went through this summer that most of our guys probably couldn't make it through. He ran the hills in Vegas, he did a lot of stuff on his own. My hat is off to him for doing that, because he could have relaxed and took the summer off. But he didn't. He knew what he had to do, and he did it."
Lowry would only share that he hired a new nutritionist, changed some things in his diet and continued to work with the personal chef he had last year. The new Raptors preseason media guide lists his weight at 196 pounds, compared with 205 pounds in his bio last year. He says he feels lighter and quicker, and his teammates have noticed it too.
"I read everything; I see everything. I know every person who said something bad about me. I don't need the motivation from that, but I use it. Always, it's extra fuel when you've got people bashing you," Lowry said. "It was true; I know how bad I played. I want them to say those things. Early in the year, they were saying, 'Oh my God.' Now I've got to go back to making them say, 'Oh my God.'"
The Raptors begin training camp Tuesday in Vancouver.
Rachel Brady