Heat’s Kyle Lowry ready to begin on-court relationship with Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo
Turns out that the dynamics that will make Kyle Lowry and Jimmy Butler the ideal Miami Heat teammates — an unrelenting competitiveness and thirst to win, and an appreciation for those who say what they think, no matter what feathers are ruffled — was actually the genesis of their friendship and the impetus for Lowry’s decision to join the Heat.
So Lowry — who signed a three-year, $85 million contract with the Heat in August — said Heat fans can expect something “fiery” when he and Butler begin their on-court tenure as Heat teammates next week.
Training camp opens Tuesday at AmericanAirlines Arena.
“Having that common interest in the love of the game and how hard we work and how much we want to win, that was the first thing of us being on the same page,” Lowry said of how their friendship started.
“Like, ‘Yo this guy really wants to play hard and the competitive nature of trying to not let each other score.’ Doing whatever it takes to win. That is where the relationship started because there’s a common interest in winning, and that’s all we’re both about: Winning.”
Butler’s personality — prickly at times — can be an acquired taste. But Lowry finds Butler’s bluntness endearing.
“When you find somebody who’s genuine about who they are and what they want and as blunt as Jimmy is, it’s a good feeling to have somebody that just doesn’t care,” Lowry said earlier this offseason.
“He’s going to say what he wants. As a man, I respect that. He’s supposed to speak his mind and not hold back. Sometimes he might be a little bit super aggressive and assertive, but that’s where I come in to let him yell at me and I’ll relay the message.”
The bond was so strong that Butler — two years ago — asked Lowry to be the godfather of his daughter. That stunned Lowry.
“It was like: ‘Are you serious, man?’” Lowry said. “It’s an honor for me to be able to do that and to be a part of his daughter’s life. He knows that if anything ever happens — God willing it never does — that I’ll hold it down. That’s important to myself and him.”
Lowry said his friendship with Butler impacted his decision to join the Heat “a lot. A lot. Me and Jimmy, we’ve been talking about this for a long time now. He was continuing to chirp about it and talk to me about it [this summer].
“But as a true friend, it doesn’t matter what decision I made; he was going to support me. But he was really on me about coming to the Heat and fulfilling some things that we talked about before. Now I’m looking forward to the opportunity to actually get back on the same team besides the Olympic team.”
Butler calls Lowry “one of my absolute best friends. As competitive as it is, we’re always laughing, always joking around.”
Their on-court chemistry should flourish. Expect to see Butler draw a second defender on drives to the basket, then dish to Lowry for an open three if Lowry’s defender sags off him.
The Lowry/Bam Adebayo dynamic also will be fascinating to watch evolve.
There should be plenty of alley-oops and Lowry penetrations that should prompt the defense to double him, creating Lowry passes to Adebayo for open midrange shots.
Adebayo shot 45.6 percent from 10 to 15 feet last season, up from 40.9 in 2019-20. He should get even more of those shots now with Lowry’s ability to draw defenders on forays to the basket.
Lowry arrives with an appreciation for Adebayo’s unique skill set for a big man.
“Bam can handle the ball,” Lowry said. “He can make plays, super athletic. He’s high energy. He’s competitive,” adding that he wants to help Adebayo “be in better spots and get easier looks, layups and dunks.
“And he’s going to do a lot for me. He’s going to set good screens. So it’s a relationship that can really benefit each other, the confidence to shoot the 15-footer when he’s open, right? Shooting that little floater, and possibly expanding the game out to the three.”
Lowry will instantly exert his leadership in the days ahead.
“A big thing for how I operate, is I want to build everyone’s confidence up to make sure you basically feel like Superman out there,” Lowry said. “And no matter what the situation is, the time, score, I want you to feel like you can do whatever you need to do to help our team win. And that’s what I think I can do for” Adebayo and others.
QUICK NOTE
▪ ESPN’s NBA panel named three Heat players among the top 43 in the sport: Butler at No. 16 (just behind Jayson Tatum and Devin Booker but just ahead of Trae Young), Adebayo at No. 21 (just ahead of Jrue Holiday and just behind Kyrie Irving) and Lowry at No. 43 (just ahead of Myles Turner but just behind Julius Randle and Michael Porter Jr.). Duncan Robinson was rated 90th.
This story was originally published September 24, 2021 at 4:19 PM.
