Kyle Lowry wasn't shy of confidence this postseason, and he showed it by making some big-time guarantees to his former college coach, Villanova's Jay Wright.
Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated detailed a passage in which Lowry told his college coach the Toronto Raptors would overcome adversity, first promising team president Masai Ujiri a four-game win streak in the first round and ultimately telling Wright the Raptors would win the NBA Finals:
“After dropping the first game of the opening round to the Magic, Toronto had a team meeting. Lowry approached Ujiri, declaring that the Raptors would win four straight. They did. After losing Game 2 of the Finals, Lowry called Wright and said, We’re winning this series.”
The Raptors were expected to sweep the seventh-seeded Orlando Magic in the first round, but they lost Game 1 in stunning fashion.
Toronto would bounce back to win the series in five games, moving on to a tougher test against the Philadelphia 76ers, in which they trailed 2-1 before winning it in seven.
Lowry ultimately knew his team was destined for greatness upon coming back from a 2-0 deficit and trumping the Milwaukee Bucks in six games in the Eastern Conference Finals, giving them the ammo necessary to survive an NBA Finals against a wounded Golden State Warriors team.
The Raptors didn't have to play from behind in the NBA Finals, but that didn't prove an issue for Lowry to keep his promise, making his college coach very proud after adding another NBA champion to the program.
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