Yeah, I know. They lost.

But there’s something that must be said about warriors. Homage must be paid to those courageous enough to fight. Kyle Lowry is coming off one of his worst shooting post-seasons of his career. He’s putting up terrible numbers after injuring his elbow in January and draining it in March. He was 0-5 from 3-point range before hitting this legendary* shot.

I add an asterisk because it would have been legendary if the Raptors ended up pulling off the victory. Because of the loss, his shooting woes are still the top story attached to his name. The story isn’t this amazing shot. It’s not the fact that he was willing to put the game on his shoulders, taking a shot that every statistician would have expected him to miss. He had nothing going for him but the will to win. So he put it on his back. That’s what a warrior does.

‘I would go 0-30 before I would go 0-9. 0-9 means you beat yourself, you psyched yourself out of the game… The only reason is because you’ve just now lost confidence in yourself.’ – Kobe Bryant

I’m by no means a Raptor fan. Drake is being a ridiculous clown on the sidelines and dropping purple from the uniforms was a mistake. But I admire the fight in guys like Kyle Lowry and I want them to be rewarded for inspiring belief in the rest of us. How can I not love a man who does this?

Reports say that he was in the gym until 1AM. Putting up shots by himself, no staff, getting his own rebounds until 1AM after a playoff game that went into overtime where he played almost 43 minutes. This is a man who takes responsibility for the wins and losses of his team, a man who understands his role as a leader of a group and puts the weight of these playoffs on his shoulders. How do I not root for this man?

They may not win, D-Wade is a hero too. And don’t get me started on the courage of Chris Bosh to get back on the court. But for the next few games, I’m taping a 7 on my chest and rooting for Kyle Lowry. His shot might not fall, but I know he won’t let me down.