10. Pascal Siakam & Kyle Lowry
A five-time NBA All-Star, and the NBA’s Most Improved Player in the 2018-19 season, the duo of Kyle Lowry and Pascal Siakam appropriately clock in at the tenth spot here. Both are now NBA champions, courtesy of last season’s wild ride and are aiming to retain the much-deserved accolade.
While both players were highly instrumental in the Raptors winning their first-ever NBA title, they happened to play second and third fiddle to Kawhi Leonard for much of the playoffs. Each player came up with big moments and big games, but a lot of the load was still carried by Leonard – despite it most definitely being a team victory.
With Leonard now out of the picture, it’ll be up to Siakam and Lowry to manage the bulk of the Raptors offense – luckily for Raptors fans, the keys are in the right hands. Lowry remains of the leagues best – and most under-appreciated – facilitators and averaged a career-high 8.7 assists per game last season.
Siakam now has the task of becoming the Toronto Raptors primary scoring option this season, something he is more than ready for. He showed signs of a working jumper throughout last season, and should only look to build on that this year, along with his dynamic blend of post moves and ability to attack in transition.
That willingness to get out on the break will work wonders for Lowry too, who always looks a bit more creative when attacking on a fast-break. We might be seeing a lot more pick-and-roll actions with the two stars this season too.
As long as Siakam can handle the jump, there are limitless possibilities for what these two can do this season.