Kyle Lowry: 'I never thought I'd be back' with Raptors

Kyle Lowry has taken on a role as the leader of the up-and-coming Raptors and is a fan favorite in Toronto, roles cemented when the Villanova product signed a four-year, $48-million extension with the team this summer.

"This is a first-class organization, and coming back here, I want to do something special," Lowry said at the media conference to announce his new deal in July. “It was easy to come back here."

Lowry is obviously thrilled to be back in Toronto, but he wasn't always so high on the organization, especially when he was coming off the bench behind Jose Calderon for a chunk of the 2012-13 season. At that time, Lowry didn't foresee a future with the Raptors.

Via Grantland's Jonathan Abrams:

What would he have said back then about his chances of re-signing in Toronto? “I’d tell you, ‘You can kiss my ass,’” Lowry recalled. “I never thought I’d be back. Put it like this: I thought, I’ll do my two-year bid and I’m gone. That was it.”

The Raptors acquired Lowry from the Houston Rockets in the summer of 2012, with two years remaining on the point guard's contract. Lowry also told Grantland that he never wanted that trade to begin with.

I knew (Toronto was) trying to get Steve Nash. This is what they said: They wanted Steve Nash to be the point guard for two years and then me learn behind Nash and to get paid and be the starter after Steve called it a career. I said, ‘No, I don’t want to be a backup. You’re not trading for me to be a backup.’ They did the trade anyway, but they didn’t get Steve.

Considering how unlikely a long-term partnership seemed just a year ago, and considering how close the Raptors reportedly came to trading Lowry to the New York Knicks after they'd dealt Rudy Gay in December, it's a near miracle that the 28-year-old didn't become the latest in a long line of Raptors stars who got away.

Instead, Lowry enters the 2014-15 season without contractual questions and is the best player on a Raptors team that will be favored to repeat as Atlantic Division champions.

Lowry emerged as one of the best point guards in the Eastern Conference during his career year in 2013-14, averaging 17.9 points, 7.4 assists, 4.7 rebounds and 1.5 steals while shooting 38 percent from three-point territory and posting a 20.1 PER.