Title: Raptors’ Malachi Flynn ready for bigger role after year as understudy to Kyle Lowry, Fred VanVleet
Date: August 24, 2021
Original Source: The Athletic
Synopsis: In my latest for The Athletic Toronto, I wrote about Malachi Flynn’s year learning under Kyle Lowry and Fred VanVleet, and how that got him ready for the opportunity ahead.
LAS VEGAS — Malachi Flynn doesn’t even need to step on the court for the influence Kyle Lowry and Fred VanVleet had on him to become obvious. Normally quiet and serious, Flynn has taken on the deadpan humour of his mentors, faux-bemoaning their constant coaching in his ear during his rookie season.
“I shoulda told them to shut up,” Flynn joked in Las Vegas two weeks ago.
The comment came after a summer league game in which he looked the part of a rotation-ready, second-year veteran. That’s where he should be at this point. A 23-year-old who was an older rookie after being one of the best players in college basketball, the Raptors were comfortable saying an emotional goodbye to Lowry in part because this is the timeline they expected Flynn to be operating on.
Blake Murphy Sports Writing 