The Raptors will be national heroes in Canada if they can finish off the Warriors in the NBA Finals and bring home the team's first championship.
Raptors point guard Kyle Lowry got a taste of the adulation to come at a media conference this weekend. Arjun Ram, a teen reporter for CBC Kids News, posed a question to Lowry: "Mr. Lowry, how does it feel to be an icon all over Canada to kids?"
Lowry chuckled a couple of times, shook his head, put his head in his hands and seemed genuinely surprised.
"That's a crazy question — I ain't never been asked that one," Lowry said.
Lowry quickly recovered.
"I'll put it this way. I was once a kid," Lowry said. "I was once in your shoes. And to be able to know kids one day will want to be like me, I hold myself to a super-high standard. And I want kids and I want you to see a man that's really professional about his business, but at the same time he's still fun and loving and everything else."
After Lowry answered the question, another reporter started to ask something, but Lowry interrupted.
"That's a crazy question. You can't beat that question," he said. "You can't beat that question. You can try, but you can't beat that question."
Kyle Lowry was SHOOK by this question 💀pic.twitter.com/arO26d8GaP
— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) June 9, 2019
Lowry, who averaged 14.2 points per game in the regular season, has scored 16.5 ppg against the Warriors.
The Raptors, who lead the Warriors 3-1 in the NBA Finals, can clinch in front of their home fans at Scotiabank Arena in Game 5 Monday night. Game time is 9 p.m. ET.