Kyle Lowry confirms he's still doing the pregame handshake routine he had with DeMar DeRozan

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It appears as though Kyle Lowry misses having DeMar DeRozan around.

Before the Toronto Raptors opened their season against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday, Lowry was spotted doing his old pregame handshake routine with DeRozan — even though DeRozan is no longer on the Raptors — as his teammates started to take the floor.


Lowry and DeRozan were teammates in Toronto for six seasons. They might not have had much to do with each other to begin with , but they quickly became close friends.

DeRozan was then included in this offseason's blockbuster deal that landed Kawhi Leonard in Toronto, bringing an end to the dynamic one-two punch that turned the Raptors into one of the best teams in the league.

Fortunately for the Raptors, not having DeRozan around didn't prevent Lowry from running circles around the Cavaliers in the season opener. In 35 minutes of action, the veteran led the way with 27 points and eight assists.

Toronto can only hope for more of the same as Lowry and Kawhi look to take the franchise to another level this season.

UPDATE: Kyle Lowry confirmed in an interview with NBA TV that he's still doing his old handshake with DeMar DeRozan.

"That's just been working for me for a long time," Lowry said. "He's still my dog. He's my best friend in the world."

"People saying, 'He's not dead, he's in Texas.' Hey listen, this is about me," Lowry continued. "This is about me keeping up with my tradition. Yeah, that's my dog and he's always gonna be my best friend. But it's more about tradition."

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Scott Rafferty is a Senior NBA Editor for The Sporting News