Kyle Lowry already had been in the NBA for a decade by this point and was starting to emerge as one of the sport’s best point guards.
Josh Hart and Jalen Brunson were in college at Villanova, looking to follow in his footsteps, and Lowry showed them what it would take.
“In the summers, we would come in the gym at 6:30 a.m. for workouts and Kyle was finishing his work, drenched in sweat,” former Villanova coach Jay Wright recalled. “I would always find creative ways to make that point to Jalen and Josh and all the guys when they were younger: ‘Look at this NBA All-Star, we’re just getting in the gym and he’s finishing.’ He was definitely the big brother to those two.”
They would play pick-up games with one another, and Lowry never took it easy on them.
Hart and Brunson tried to prove themselves against him, using the NBA star as a measuring stick.
Starting Sunday, the three Villanova alums will share the Garden floor as the Knicks face the Heat for Game 1 of their Eastern Conference semifinals series.
“We have been blessed to have really competitive guys,” Wright said. “Those three right there are among the elite in terms of competitiveness. All three of them are guys that in practice, we always had to monitor because they could take the competitiveness a little bit too far sometimes.”
Even at the age of 37, Lowry still can make an impact.
In Miami’s upset of the top-seeded Bucks in the first round, the six-time All-Star averaged 7.6 points and 3.2 assists in 21.2 minutes off the bench.
Both Hart and Brunson looked up to Lowry as a mentor, in particular Hart.
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When he first broke into the NBA, Hart spoke to him about sneaker contracts.
They talked free agency years later when Hart was going through it for the first time.
The two have remained close.
“He’s someone that is very genuine and I think that’s something that’s really cool [about him],” Hart said.
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“That’ll be all I say about that until after the series. Get all this lovey-dovey stuff out of the way early. We just know we got to make sure Coach Wright comes to a game since we’ve got Villanova guys going at it.”
Wright plans to attend a few games, but he does have one problem: He hasn’t decided which team he’ll be pulling for.
Lowry already has won a title, in 2019 with the Raptors, but at his age, he may not get many more chances.
The Knicks do have two Villanova players, compared to the Heat’s one.
“I’m purely for the individuals,” Wright said jokingly. “I used to tell our guys that about their parents. I used to say to them, ‘I get it, your parents don’t care who wins or loses, they just want you to play well. I get it.’ Now I’m the same way with these guys.”
Fortunately for Wright, one way or another, Villanova will win.