Pascal Siakam and Kyle Lowry are now the top duo for the Toronto Raptors. Where do they rank among other duos in the NBA?
Until recently, the NBA was all the big three. Each team that wanted to contend for a title felt it was necessary to have three standout players. Look at the Golden State Warriors, the Miami Heat, the San Antonio Spurs, and even the Cleveland Cavaliers. All had three star players on their teams, all won titles. The Toronto Raptors were the last of those teams to win a title.
They, too, had a big three. The trio of Kawhi Leonard, Kyle Lowry, and Pascal Siakam led the Toronto Raptors to their first-ever NBA title with a lot of help from the rest of the roster, but those three were the big names.
Only two of them remain now. Both Lowry and Siakam head into the 2019/20 NBA season as members of the Toronto Raptors while Leonard starts a new life in L.A., with Paul George and the Los Angeles Clippers.
Leonard’s exodus to California capped the start of something new in the NBA. Formerly all about the big three, teams now look like they are built around two star players. Because of that, the league feels a lot more competitive this season. In a way, parity is finally restored and the title is up for grabs.
For the Raptors, that means Lowry and Siakam take on the mantle as the team’s star duo, but they still have quality players all over the court. But by definition, Lowry and Siakam are just the two best, and therefore eligible to considered as one of the league’s best duos.
No longer three, two seems to be the magic number. But where exactly do Siakam and Lowry fit in among the league’s duos for the upcoming season?