Kyle Lowry never dreamed of joining the Sixers, but his homecoming came at the right time: ‘I’m prepared’

Kyle Lowry calls his homecoming with the 76ers an opportunity to play for “a great team.”

“Play with some great players and help Tyrese Maxey get better and help Joel Embiid to continue to be as dominant as he has been,” the North Philly native said. “For me, it was an opportunity to — playing at home is one thing you always want to do, but then you never [really] want to do it. And you get the opportunity to do it, and take advantage of it. You want to do it. So it’s an exciting time.”

The point guard practiced with the Sixers (32-22) on Tuesday and Wednesday after signing a $2.8 million contract for the rest of the season on Feb. 13. This marks the former Cardinal Dougherty High and Villanova standout’s second go-round with Sixers coach Nick Nurse.

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Lowry was Nurse’s standout point guard on the Toronto Raptors’ 2019 NBA championship team.

“Again, he is familiar with a lot of stuff that we do because of our history,” Nurse said. “So it’s good. He’s obviously a leader, a vocal leader. [You] notice that presence already in the last two practices. A lot of guys, Buddy [Hield], Cam [Payne], [Darius] Bazley and Kyle’s first practices. Even though Buddy and Cam played a couple of games, [Tuesday] was their first practice.”

“So we went over a lot of introductory stuff. Kyle was probably ahead of everybody else because of his familiarity.”

The Sixers acquired Hield and Payne on Feb. 8 in trades from the Indiana Pacers and Milwaukee Bucks, respectively. Meanwhile, Bazley signed a 10-day contract on Tuesday.

The team also welcomed back injured starters Tobias Harris (left hip), Nico Batum (strained left hamstring), and De’Anthony Melton (spine). The trio practiced without restrictions Wednesday.

Harris will play in Thursday’s game against the New York Knicks at the Wells Fargo Center. However, Batum was listed as questionable on Wednesday night’s injury report. The report also revealed that Melton will remain sidelined.

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Meanwhile, the goal is for reserve forward Robert Covington (left knee bone bruise) to ramp up on-court activities over the next two-to-three weeks. He remains sidelined and will be reevaluated in 10 to 14 weeks. The hope is that Embiid (left knee meniscus surgery) will return next month.

Lowry, who turns 38 on March 25, will be looked upon as a second point guard once everyone’s healthy. The six-time All-Star and 2016 Olympic gold medalist will also play alongside first-time All-Star Maxey, the starting point guard.

“I’m excited to be here,” Lowry said. “I understand my role and my job. My job is to make sure that Tyrese gets better, this team gets to a point where they haven’t been in a while.

“I’m going to do everything I can to make this team and this organization better. No matter what the role is, what the minutes are, what the situation is, my job is to be a professional and help Tyrese get better, help this team get better, help Coach get better, and help everybody get better. That’s my job.”

The Sixers are excited about Lowry’s leadership and hope he can help them succeed in the playoffs. He’s also expected to get players to buy into what Nurse is selling. The 18th-year veteran also possesses toughness the Sixers lost when Patrick Beverley and North Philly native Marcus Morris Sr. were traded away.

“I just go out there and be me,” Lowry said of his leadership style. “Sometimes you have to say things. Sometimes you do [it] by showing. I just go out there and do my job as hard as I can, and try to show the competitive nature that I have. Just go out there and do what I’ve got to do. Sometimes it’s talk, sometimes it’s not.”

He’ll do it in front of people who have followed his career since high school.

Lowry began his high school career at Northeast before transferring to Cardinal Dougherty. He led the Cardinals to two consecutive trips to the Catholic League title game and was twice named a first-team All-Catholic selection.

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He went on to star at Villanova for two seasons before the Memphis Grizzlies selected him 24th in the 2006 NBA draft.

Lowry has averages of 14.4 points, 6.2 assists, and 2.3 turnovers in 1,115 career games and 866 starts with the Grizzlies, Houston Rockets, Raptors, and Miami Heat.

But Lowry hasn’t played since Jan. 21 with the Heat. He’s in basketball shape, not game shape. He’ll improve that by playing in games, practicing, and putting in extra work.

“Just kind of get the physicality,” he said, “get back on the court and back in the groove of NBA basketball.”

Lowry signed with the Sixers upon clearing waivers after being bought out by the Charlotte Hornets on Feb. 11. The Hornets had acquired him in a trade with the Heat on Jan. 23.

The Sixers tried to acquire Lowry in a deal with the Raptors before the February 2021 trade deadline. However, Toronto sent him to the Heat via a sign-and-trade on Aug. 6, 2021.

So this was always a dream, to play for his hometown team, right?

“It wasn’t a dream,” he said. “You never want to play at home because there’s so much going on. It’s a hard place to play when you go back home. But at the end of the day, it’s a dream come true because I’m able to play in front of my friends and family and people that I cheered for growing up as a Sixers fan and it’s one of those things that now I’m prepared to do.

“When you’re younger, you’re not really prepared to do it. At this point, at this time of my career, I’m prepared to do it.”