Kyle Lowry Says He Wasn't Disrespecting LeBron James with Post-Game 7 Comments

On Tuesday, Toronto Raptors point guard Kyle Lowry tried to clear up comments he made about Cleveland Cavaliers star LeBron James after Toronto defeated the Miami Heat on Sunday in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals. 

Lowry told ESPN's Doris Burke that James "is probably one of the best players in the league besides [Stephen Curry]":  

He addressed the media before Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals against James and the Cavaliers at Quicken Loans Arena, per ESPN.com's Mike Mazzeo:

"I would never throw (any) shade on one of the greatest players in history of basketball. I would never do that. Some people will take it for too much. LeBron is LeBron James. He'll probably be (one of the) top three players of all time when he retires."

James seemingly didn't flinch at those comments, telling the media that he took no offense to what Lowry said, per Mazzeo. 

After all, Curry has won the past two MVP awards, is the best player on the greatest regular-season team in NBA history and set a new league record with 402 made three-pointers this year. 

James himself made some eyebrow-raising comments shortly after Curry won the MVP unanimously last Tuesday, via Fox Sports:

Curry tried to play it off, via Fox Sports:

While James didn't make much of Lowry's comments to the media, he could use them as bulletin-board material—something that's likely unnecessary for a player who already has plenty of motivation.

After four years and two championships with the Miami Heat, James returned to Cleveland—which hasn't won a title in any of the four major sports since 1964—to finally deliver the city a championship, as he told Sports Illustrated's Lee Jenkins in 2014.

Now, Lowry and the underdog Raptors will get to see firsthand just how good and motivated James is when he's only four wins away from a second straight NBA Finals appearance with the Cavaliers. 

Stats courtesy of Basketball-Reference.com.