NBA: Ranking all 30 starting point guards for 2018-19

7. Kyle Lowry, Toronto Raptors

On the one hand, Kyle Lowry‘s numbers took a decent drop last year in a new egalitarian offense, and at age 32, with Kawhi Leonard joining the party, it’s unlikely anything changes in 2018-19. However, even with the dip in individual production, Lowry’s importance to the Toronto Raptors may have gotten even larger after the team’s eventful summer.

Leonard will take a ton of pressure off Lowry to take over in the postseason, but his shaky health, plus a new head coach in Nick Nurse, means this team will rely on Lowry to feed Toronto’s scorers as much as ever. He’s the constant in a swirling offseason of activity, and he’s also the Raptors’ heartbeat with DeMar DeRozan gone.

He should still hover around the 16.2 points, 6.9 assists and 5.2 rebounds per game he averaged last year, and if he shoots around 39.9 percent from 3 again, the Raptors will be more than happy with that. Lowry’s career is certainly on the downturn at this point, but the arrival of 3-and-D wings like Kawhi and Danny Green should breathe new life into his game and the team’s title window.