Jonathan Zaslow recently called Lowry his least favorite Heat player.
Kyle Lowry hasn’t played in a month. After being labeled as “questionable” to play in the Miami Heat’s road win over the Philadelphia 76ers Monday, Lowry has gone back to being out indefinitely.
The 2019 NBA champion hasn’t had a great tenure with Miami. He admitted a personal issue that caused him to miss 13 games during the 2021-22 season “kind of derailed my whole season.” He suffered a hamstring injury in the first round of the playoffs and never delivered as the third star the Heat hoped he could be.
After last year’s exit in the Eastern Conference Finals, Pat Riley challenged Lowry to get in “world class shape.” At the opening of training camp this year, Lowry said he didn’t hear it. And his play continued to plummet.
Appearing on the Dan LeBatard Show March 2, Jonathan Zaslow called Lowry his least favorite Heat player of all time. Others asked about other polarizing players in Heat history — Antoine Walker, Hassan Whiteside — but Zaslow had retorts. Walker played well in the 2006 NBA Finals, and Whiteside at least gave double-doubles, he said.
“Least favorite Heat player of all time.”
– @ZaslowShow on Kyle Lowry. #HeatCulture
https://t.co/nO2Uz6c7ZT pic.twitter.com/MwOP3LKD4H
— Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz (@LeBatardShow) March 2, 2023
Fans have soured on Lowry. Going back to him being tagged as “questionable” earlier this week, some speculated that Lowry lied to the team about his willingness to play to see his family in his hometown of Philadelphia. Zaslow said it feels like Lowry “duped the franchise.”
Lowry lied to the Heat and said he would come off the bench, even though he was never coming back. They believed him, and decided they didn’t need another PG.
Then, he told them he was close to playing for a plane ride to Philly to see family. They still owe him close to $30M.
— The Commonest Man in Festo (@hottakeharry) March 3, 2023
The Heat signed Lowry to a three-year, $85 million contract for him to buttress a team around Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo to win a championship. But it now seems like it wasn’t the right move to trade Goran Dragic for Lowry two seasons ago.
Where does Lowry rank on your list of least favorite Heat players?