Making the Hall of Fame case for Kyle Lowry ahead of his historic season

Kyle Lowry signed a one-year deal with the Philadelphia 76ers, thus, making him one of only two point guards in league history to play at least 20 NBA seasons. As Lowry approaches his 20th campaign, is the 39-year-old a future Basketball Hall of Famer?

Solid collegiate career

Lowry, a Philadelphia native, played for Villanova for two seasons before being selected in the first round of the 2006 NBA Draft. As a Wildcat, Lowry was named to the Big East All-Freshman team and the second-team All-Big East team in his sophomore season. 

Lowry played an integral part of helping the Wildcats secure berths in the NCAA tournaments consecutively. Lowry struggled with maturity early in his college career, but he turned things around, becoming a reliable contributor for the Wildcats. 

The Wildcats retired Lowry's No. 1 jersey in 2020. 

Longevity

The average NBA career is four to five seasons, so Lowry being able to be a solid player across 20 seasons is quite impressive.

Throughout his NBA tenure, Lowry has earned six All-Star selections, a third-team All-NBA nod and helped the Raptors win their first NBA title in 2019. 

It remains to be seen if Lowry will play beyond next season, but his sustainability and now being in the veteran role to mentor young guards such as Jared McCain and VJ Edgecombe should be noted.

Toronto Raptors tenure

Lowry was a premier face of the franchise for the Raptors for nine seasons. In Lowry's second campaign in Toronto, he helped the franchise to its first playoff berth in six years, which kickstarted seven consecutive playoff appearances.

Although Lowry and his teammate DeMar DeRozan couldn't get past LeBron James and Co. (lost to a LeBron-led team three times), they were still viewed as contenders in the Eastern Conference.

However, Lowry and the Raptors finally won their first championship in 2019. Lowry, alongside Kawhi Leonard, had a wild run to the NBA Finals.

In Game 6 of the NBA Finals (closeout game), Lowry tallied 26 points, seven rebounds and 10 assists while shooting 57.1% from three and 56.3% from the field. Lowry's tenacity on both ends, especially on defense, was highly touted. 

Lowry also ranks near the top in most statistical categories for the Raptors. Lowry ranks second in points (10,540), first in total assists (4,277) and first in steals (873). 

Lowry's contributions to the franchise will likely earn him a jersey retirement. 

Olympic Career

Lowry was a participant of the 2016 Men's National Team that won gold at that year's Summer Olympics. The veteran guard didn't fill up the stat sheet — he had 4.2 points, 2.4 rebounds and 4.0 assists in 13.8 minutes per game in five contests — but he contributed in ways that don't show up on paper. 

Former USA assistant head coach Jim Boeheim praised Lowry for his performance after the gold-medal victory against Serbia. In an article written by Michael Rosenberg of Sports Illustrated, Boeheim gave his thoughts on Lowry after the win.

"[He] was the best team player out of everybody. He just really bought in and was a great leader and gave everything he had every time he went out there. That was important for our team," Boeheim said.

Lowry's physicality and playmaking attributes have been on his business card for over 20 years. 

Basketball Hall of Fame leniency

It's widely regarded that the Basketball Hall of Fame is one of the easier Hall of Fames to gain entry into across major sports. 

Considering the NBA championship, longevity, tenure with the Raptors and the gold medal, and Lowry's case is hard to ignore.