30 NBA players that got better after leaving their first team

NBA (Photo by Jeenah Moon/Getty Images)
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Kyle Lowry
Kyle Lowry (Photo by Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images) /

30 NBA players who got better after leaving their first team: 3. Kyle Lowry

It took some time for Kyle Lowry to catch on. He was drafted by the Memphis Grizzlies but was limited to just 10 games as a rookie because of a wrist injury. Over the next season and a half, Mike Conley asserted himself as the starter of the future and the team agreed. Lowry was less than pleased and was shipped away at the deadline of his third season to the Houston Rockets.

Lowy improved in Houston and grew into a starter on a playoff team but once a coaching change was made he bristled under new head coach Kevin McHale which led to another offseason trade, this time to the Toronto Raptors.

Pairing up with DeMar DeRozan, the star backcourt progressively turned into one of the best teams in the Eastern Conference. In his third season with the squad, he finally made his first All-Star game. Since then, he has made five more and an All-NBA team. He is part of countless winning moments and memorable highlights. He is the star that stayed and helped Toronto win its first title in 2018. In his nine seasons with the Raptors, he has averaged 17.6 points, 7.1 assists, 4.9 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game. He has been similarly great in the postseason, specifically in the run to the championship. He is the type of defender that does not get nearly enough credit and is a nightmare for opposing guards.

Kawhi Leonard, Hakeem Olajuwon, the next player on this list and Vince Carter may go down as the best players to ever wear a Toronto Raptors uniform but make no mistake, Kyle Lowry is the greatest Toronto Raptor of all-time.