With the 2024-25 Sixers season officially in the rearview mirror, the time has come to evaluate the few highs and many lows of a disastrous campaign in which the team only managed 24 wins. We will do so in "Sixers year-in-review," a series assessing each individual Sixers player's performance this year based on numbers, film and quotes, while also looking ahead to the future.
Up next: Kyle Lowry.
Lowry joined the Sixers for the stretch run of the 2023-24 season and provided important backcourt minutes for his hometown team while reuniting with head coach Nick Nurse. He signed a veteran's minimum contract to return in 2024-25, but after a blazing start began to struggle mightily before a bad hip derailed much of his season.
At his exit interview earlier this month, Lowry, who turned 39 years old last month, declared that he wants to play one more NBA season — his 20th campaign — and that he wants to do it for his hometown team. But does the North Philadelphia product returning again make sense for the Sixers?
SIXERS YEAR-IN-REVIEW
Joel Embiid | Guerschon Yabusele | Paul George | Jared McCain | Tyrese Maxey | Andre Drummond | Quentin Grimes | Jared Butler
What we learned in 2024-25
Lowry no longer has enough explosion and mobility to be a regular NBA rotation player.
As has been described here many times: players do not need to be exceptional in every capacity on the floor, but there are areas in which they need to clear a certain threshold to be viable on a nightly basis. One of those areas is basic athleticism and movement skills. Lowry has not exactly thrived in that department for many years, but has always moved just well enough to let his skill and incredible basketball intelligence take over.
Lowry, who missed more than half of this season due to issues in his right hip which began in November and never went away, often found himself quarterbacking Nurse's zone defense on the back line during his minutes. His strength and otherworldly timing as a post defender makes him far better guarding well above his size than defending like-sized players, but that is not just a testament to his toughness — it also speaks to his inability to keep up with guards off the dribble. Lowry's foot speed is just not there and severely limits his defensive utility.
On offense, however, Lowry might even have less flexibility in terms of his role. He is one of the greatest floor generals of a generation, but he is more or less incapable of creating shots for himself or others at this point because of his total lack of off-the-dribble explosion. Let's dive into that:
Number to know
Kyle Lowry's number of made two-point field goals in 2024-25: 12.
Only two players in the NBA with at least 650 minutes played this season made fewer two-point shots on a per-possession basis than Lowry and only four had fewer two-point attempts per possession than Lowry. All of those players with lower two-point shooting frequencies have elite three-point shooting volume, while Lowry does not. In fact, only two players in the NBA attempted fewer field goals in total per possession than Lowry this season: low-usage center Mason Plumlee of the Phoenix Suns and old friend Nic Batum of the Los Angeles Clippers.
Even on a team that is supposed to have three high-usage stars that take on the bulk of the offensive workload, Lowry must at least theoretically be a credible threat to score in order for opposing defenses to not abuse his athletic deficiencies. Lowry cannot create shots on his own anymore, which means he can only play off the ball, but he will just not be taken seriously as an off-ball threat if he can easily be run off the three-point line with no repercussions.
MORE: Which Sixers midseason additions will return?
Important film
There could have been a much longer compilation of clips which exhibit Lowry's lack of off-the-dribble burst, but this one play just about sums it up:
Kyle Lowry has only attempted six two-point shots in 2024-25 (159 minutes). His assist rates are continuing to reach drastic lows.
Lowry's explosion has continued to decline, rendering him incapable of creating off-the-dribble advantages: pic.twitter.com/sBooZ15Rgm— Adam Aaronson's clips (@SixersAdamClips) November 7, 2024
Ultimately, Lowry's weaknesses make him a player who needs a role very carefully crafted to minimize those flaws and accentuate his smarts and toughness. But that is a challenging task for any coaching staff, who would be doing it to what end? Finding a way to play Lowry for 15 passable minutes each night?
MORE: Areas of improvement for Sixers' rookies
Salient soundbite
Lowry in his exit interview on April 13 on why he wants to return to the Sixers:
"I have a great relationship with [Nurse] of course, and I think the pride of being from Philadelphia and playing for Philadelphia is also — you want to figure out how to be a part of something different, special. I think you guys all know how I feel about Tyrese Maxey and he's the reason that it's just been a blessing to be a part of this because he's such a phenomenal kid and a phenomenal talent. This organization deserves to be at the top of the top and this city deserves it. So I want to be a part of that. Hopefully I can."
Question heading into the future
Is it worth it for the Sixers to use a standard roster spot on a locker room leader and mentor for young players?
During the course of the exit interview process earlier this month, multiple young players on the Sixers raved about Lowry's influence on them as a leader. Anyone watching games could see Lowry coaching up anybody he could on the sidelines, and that energy was the same behind the scenes.
Lowry was asked if it was meaningful for him to have so many young players speak glowingly of his impact on their development.
"Yeah. The only thing is they call me ancient, so that’s the only problem I have with it," Lowry said with a smile. "But that’s what I'm here for, man. As a competitor, of course I want to be on the floor and playing and competing, but as an elder statesman in this league, you get enjoyment out of watching these kids grow because I was once in their shoes and I've been through the things that they've been through: sometimes playing, sometimes not playing, sometimes getting big minutes and having great shooting games and having terrible shooting games, and then just figuring out a way to ride the wave and stay consistent… Just trying to help them be consistent.
The notion that Lowry cannot provide any value to the Sixers next season is outright false, and just about every member of the organization would stand behind that. But is leadership and mentorship worth a roster spot on a team filled with injury-prone players?
This past season, the Sixers only carried 14 of the maximum 15 players on their standard roster to open the season, creating slight financial flexibility and trade deadline maneuverability. If they go down that path again, using one of 14 spots on Lowry seems like a pretty questionable gamble. But if they end up filling out their full roster before the season, signing him becomes a more viable proposition.
Contract information
Lowry will be an unrestricted free agent this summer, free to sign with any team — but it appears clear that his sights are set on a return to Philadelphia.
MORE: Sixers' odds of keeping top-6 protected first-rounder, winning lottery
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