Miami Heat point guard Kyle Lowry is a bit long in the tooth. He is set to turn 38 years old in March and in his 18th season in the NBA.
Ahead of Miami’s matchup against the Toronto Raptors on Wednesday, the floor general spoke on his basketball future.
“I want to play,” Lowry said. “I definitely want to play. I think I still play at a high enough level that I can contribute to a team at a high level. That’s the biggest thing for me is being able to stay healthy and I’m still motivated to play. I still love this game. This game has given me so much and I still feel like I can still help the team. That’s what I want to do is be able to play.”
Lowry then went on to reiterate his desire to retire as a member of the Raptors organization. He spent nine seasons of his pro career with the Raptors and won a championship with the team back in 2019.
“I’m definitely retiring as a Raptor,” he said. “That’s something I’ve said since I left here. I will sign that one-day contract and I will retire as a Toronto Raptor.”
The point guard has started every one of the 19 games he has appeared in for the Heat so far during the 2023-24 regular season and is averaging 9.4 points, 4.2 rebounds and 4.3 assists per game while shooting 44.4 percent from the field and 44.4 percent from 3-point range.
Lowry had himself a forgettable showing in the team’s most recent game against the Indiana Pacers back on Dec. 2, however. In 29 minutes of playing time, he finished with four points, eight rebounds and two assists while shooting 0-for-4 from the floor and 0-for-3 from behind the 3-point line.
Jimmy Butler led the Heat in scoring with 33 points, while Caleb Martin finished with the second-most points on the team with 18 in 35 minutes off the bench.
The Heat went on to lose that game against the Pacers by a final score of 144-129 to fall to 11-9 on the season. Miami is currently tied with the Cleveland Cavaliers for the seventh-best record in the Eastern Conference.
Ever since the Heat’s seven-game winning streak came to an end last month, the team has played inconsistent basketball, as evidenced by the team’s 3-4 record over its last seven games.
But fortunately for Heat fans, the team is entering a portion of its regular-season schedule that doesn’t project to be too difficult. Miami will play the Charlotte Hornets (who own a 6-12 record) twice and Chicago Bulls (who own a 7-14 record) once over the next eight days.
Hopefully for the Heat, they can take advantage of their upcoming games against subpar teams in the Bulls and Hornets. After all, Miami needs to string together wins sooner or later if it wants to climb up the Eastern Conference standings.
