The secret to Kyle Lowry’s success around the rim

There’s good reason why Kyle Lowry is best known for his 3-point shooting. Not only have 40.2 percent of his career shot attempts come from the perimeter, he’s on pace to set a career-high this season with just over half of his shots coming from 3-point range. Frequency and accuracy have helped him make more 3-pointers than all but three players in 2016-17.

However, as good as he is from behind the arc, Lowry doesn’t get enough credit for his finishing around the rim. He is converting 58.8 percent of his attempts within five feet of the basket this season, a greater rate than the likes of DeMarcus Cousins and Kyrie Irving and a similar rate to Joel Embiid and Jimmy Butler. Lowry doesn’t generate as many shots in the paint as those players, but it’s a remarkable feat considering some questioned whether he’d ever be a good finisher in the NBA due to his height.

Lowry hasn’t always been a consistent finisher at the basket, either. He shot 56.1 percent within three feet of the basket in his first seven seasons in the NBA compared to 62.3 percent over the last four seasons, including 66.9 percent this season. There are a number of factors that have helped him reach those levels of efficiency — he has one of the best floaters in the game and is incredibly quick with the ball in his hands — but a lot of his success stems from how he uses his strong upper body to create separation around the basket.

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The video below is a one-in-a-million example, but it gives some insight into his thought process. Instead of making the most out of the distance between himself and the trailing defenders by turning on the jets, Lowry actually slows down in transition to let Richard Jefferson run past him and to kill J.R. Smith’s momentum. The reason why: Lowry can then attack the basket knowing the only two defenders in his area aren’t looming threats.

The part about Lowry killing Smith’s momentum is what’s key. It’s unlikely Smith would’ve actually poked the ball out of Lowry’s hands or blocked his shot — Smith only averages a steal and less than half a block per game over his career — but it takes the element of surprise out of the play and makes it as close to a sure thing as possible.

Let’s take a look at another video. While Nikola Vucevic isn’t a strong rim protector, he’s still a huge presence for Lowry to deal with as a 7-footer with a 7-foot-4 wingspan. Rather than recklessly trying to finish over him or through him, Lowry uses his body to get Vucevic off balance and to put himself in position for a strong finish at the basket. As easy as Lowry makes it look, it takes an incredible amount of body control and strength to pull it off.

The replay in slow motion does a better job of showing what makes Lowry special in these situations. Notice how he protects the ball by bringing it over to the left side of his body when he first jumps into Vucevic. There’s a good chance Vucevic would’ve fouled him had he not jumped into his body, but doing so allows Lowry to absorb the contact and finish at the basket. It’s all about putting himself in control of the drive.

Lowry does this frequently against power forwards and centers when they’re waiting for him at the rim. Just watch him bully Cristiano Felicio in the following clip by jumping into his body and protecting the ball before he goes up for a layup:

Those are the obvious ways Lowry uses his body to score at the basket, but it’s the subtle ones that separate him from other players at his position. As simple and obvious as it may sound, he knows how difficult it is for the NBA’s longest defenders to block a shot across someone’s body. By positioning his body between the ball and his own defender, their timing has to be almost perfect to prevent him from getting off a shot.

For example, notice how Lowry’s shoulders are parallel with the baseline when he picks up the ball in the image below. It’s a natural movement for someone who is attacking the basket from the center of the court, but it’s what he does next that sets him up for success.

Even though he has a step on Danilo Gallinari, Lowry shifts his body so his shoulders are parallel to the sideline by bumping into Gallinari and using his body as a springboard towards the basket. Lowry jumps off the wrong foot to fool Gallinari by design (players usually jump off their left foot for a right handed layup) and makes his shot more difficult to block by angling his body away from him.

From there, it’s a relatively easy finish for Lowry because he’s neutralized Gallinari and Jusuf Nurkic is attached to Jonas Valanciunas underneath the basket. Had he not turned his shoulders, Gallinari would’ve likely been able to make a play on the ball and Nurkic may have been more inclined to help off of Valanciunas.

The same tactic works against the NBA’s elite shot blockers, too. At 7-1 with a 7-8 wingspan, Rudy Gobert is the most intimidating rim protector in the league. And yet, Lowry scores a clutch basket against him in the pick-and-roll by using his body to shield the basketball and leaning forward to create more distance for Gobert to cover.

Lowry does exactly the same to Karl-Anthony Towns, another imposing center who stands at 7-foot with a 7-foot-4 wingspan, on this possession:

Lowry certainly isn’t alone when it comes to knowing how to use his body to put himself in scoring positions — C.J. McCollum and Isaiah Thomas both excel at it — but he does it better than most. For someone who is only 6-foot tall and has a total of two dunks in his NBA career, it’s important he attacks the basket with a plan and uses the tools he does have (quickness and strength) to make up for the ones he doesn’t (height and explosiveness).

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Combine it with Lowry’s ability to pull-up from 3-point range off the dribble, and the result is an inside-outside threat tailor-made for the modern NBA.