NBA FINALS: HEAT VS. NUGGETS

June 8, 2023

Kyle Lowry

Miami Heat

Practice Day

Q. Why is it so important that you guys are so loose today? As you may have just heard Jimmy was being violently harassed by a teammate during his interview.

KYLE LOWRY: Who would do something like that? Had to be Bam (smiling).

Q. Why is it important?

KYLE LOWRY: Honestly, we play basketball for a living. If you get too uptight -- that's been our group the whole year. We got great leaders. Jimmy is loose. Bam is loose. Coach, he's going to smile.

If you get too uptight, you can wind yourself crazy.

Yes, we've all thought about the game. We slept badly last night. I'm sure everyone did. We got to just stay in the moment. The moments don't come often. Seventeen years for me, I mean, it's my second Finals. I'm appreciative of it.

I think our group is just a group that understands that it's how we are. We don't get uptight. We just go out there and we smile through everything. We just have fun.

Q. How are you feeling?

KYLE LOWRY: Great. Fantastic. I could do 20,000 jumping jacks right now (smiling).

Q. One of the adjustments they made, helping less off the shooters, take away some of those clean three-point looks you got. Thoughts on that.

KYLE LOWRY: Yeah, I think they made a great adjustment. That's Playoff basketball. Every single game is completely different. Adjustments will be made every single night. At this stage, two teams left, you got to be able to make adjustments.

That's what both teams have done throughout the Playoff run. It's really a chess match. They did a good job of staying home and making us shoot tough twos, stuff like that.

But that's good basketball. It's good for them to be able to make that adjustment. Now we got to go and watch the film, figure out what we can do better, how we can adjust, how we can adapt, get some better looks.

Q. I heard a rumor you were wearing a Messi jersey during the World Cup.

KYLE LOWRY: Yeah.

Q. Your reaction to the news he's going to be playing here?

KYLE LOWRY: Man, he's getting a lot of money (laughter). It's going to be awesome, man. I think the MLS is a great league. I think they understand how to put the product out there. Bringing one of the world's greatest futbol players out there, bringing him here is going to be awesome. He's going to bring a different fan base. He's going to get some more revenue going. It's going to be a great atmosphere when they get that stadium built. The fans are going to enjoy it.

I think it's great for soccer in America, especially down here in Miami.

Q. How big a soccer fan are you? How big a Messi fan are you?

KYLE LOWRY: I'm a Messi fan. Soccer, I mean, it's great to watch. I watch the World Cups. I'm not good at it, so I don't really love it like that. If I was good at it, I'd be like "yeah, yeah."

Q. Am I correct you have not had a chance to go over film yet?

KYLE LOWRY: Not really.

Q. Jimmy talked a lot about effort and energy, 50/50 balls and things like that. What makes it so difficult -- the NBA is difficult, it's tough, right? What makes it even more difficult at this stage to be able to get everybody in the same place mentally to make those kind of effort plays and be locked in?

KYLE LOWRY: I think every human being is different in general, right? So everyone is not going to be on the same page at all times.

I think when you have one common goal, it's a lot easier. We watch the film, we'll be in there together. I think that's the one thing about it is that it's not as difficult.

Everyone has their own minds, for sure. When you have one common goal, it's only about this championship, I think it's a little bit easier to get closer to the same page mentally than everyone else.

Yeah...

Q. Rookie of the Year, baby.

KYLE LOWRY: There you go.

Q. Paolo here with P5 Productions today.

KYLE LOWRY: Okay.

Q. Obviously Villanova great, jersey up in the rafters. I'm curious to know, what is your Villanova all-time starting five?

KYLE LOWRY: Oh, man. That's a tough question from the Rookie of the Year right now, know what I'm saying? P5, that's your stuff?

Q. Started today.

KYLE LOWRY: P5 started today. Y'all, go follow P5.

My all-time starting lineup of Villanova would be, got to go with Ed Pinckney for sure. I'm going to go with Tim Thomas. I'm going to go with Randy Foye. I'm going to go with me. I'm going to go with Mikal Bridges.

Then Jalen [Brunson], Josh [Hart], they'll be my sixth and seventh man. I like that lineup. I'm happy with that.

Q. Only because you said he's getting a lot of money, and he is.

KYLE LOWRY: Yeah.

Q. He left like a billion on the table.

KYLE LOWRY: Listen, I ain't got nothing to do with that (laughing).

Q. Everybody has their own plan, whatever. He's not hurting obviously. Is that like the ultimate athlete empowerment story to say, I'm going to go where I want, I'm going to do what I want? Is that something you strive to get to rather than who makes the biggest offer?

KYLE LOWRY: Honestly, that's a really good question. Honestly. I think through our athletics, I appreciate the guys who went through a lot of the struggles to even get us to this point where we can make decisions on where we want to be. It's about us being happy.

Yeah, to be able to turn down one place and go to where you want to be, that's the ultimate goal. That's in life. That's in general, right? That's not just with athletics. That's life in general as a reporter, lawyer, doctor, you want to be able to choose where your happiness lies.

At the end of the day, it's all about your health, health, happiness, family. That's all that matters.

You want to be able to say you're happy, you're smiling every single day, you're breathing above this earth while you can, and you can provide for your family, friends, for yourself, and be able to do it how you want to do it. That's the ultimate goal.