Canadian participation in American sports leagues is a constant source of identity struggle for pop-culturally-inclined citizens north of the border. This NBA season saw them enjoying one of their better memories, though, as the Toronto Raptors fought to within two wins of the Finals. Raptors enthusiasts haven’t enjoyed this kind of prominence since Vince Carter so famously stuck his elbow through the rim 16 years ago.
Kyle Lowry, the team’s point guard and best player, clearly feels quite a kinship with the fans of his adopted country. “Every city where we proudly wore our jersey,” he writes in a recently tweeted thank you letter, “I saw our fans. I always knew we were Canada’s team, but damn… y’all came out with the love and support we needed.”
Lowry goes on to tip his hat to the fans for voting him into his second-straight All-Star appearance, and mention his love for backcourt partner DeMar DeRozan, who will be an unrestricted free agent this summer. If the Raptors want to continue the momentum forged by this postseason run, they’ll likely have to shell out big bucks to DeRozan and emerging defensive stalwart Bismack Biyombo. Lowry’s positivity and gratitude, though, are a good start to a very crucial summer for the next few years of Raptor basketball.
Check the full letter below:
https://twitter.com/Klow7/status/738445819792261120/photo/1
(@Klow7)
