How Kyle Lowry became the last Raptor standing

TORONTO -- KYLE LOWRY'S path to becoming the starting point guard for a team in the NBA Finals could best be described as a happy accident.

When he joined the Toronto Raptors in a trade with the Houston Rockets in July 2012, he was forced to compete with Jose Calderon for minutes before eventually beating out the Spaniard when he was traded. A year later, a different trade -- one that didn't happen -- would've seen him wind up with the New York Knicks, only for them to scuttle the deal at the last minute after it was all but done.

Then came last summer. After yet another playoff beatdown at the hands of LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers, the other two pillars of the greatest stretch in…