Kyle Lowry became an All-Star by stealing from them

Kyle Lowry took the money and ran. And he kept running, kept shooting, kept improving.

The Toronto Raptors point guard is having the best NBA season of his career, again. He has carried the second-best team in the Eastern Conference on his broad shoulders and stout 6-foot frame. And with a boost from Justin Bieber, he will be starting in next weekend's NBA All-Star Game, the only first-timer voted in by fans this year.

Lowry took the rare path to stardom, drifting in and out of starting lineups for the Memphis Grizzlies, Houston Rockets and Raptors in his first seven seasons. Things started to click last season, so Toronto gave him a four-year, $48 million contract to keep their successful core in place.

But instead of sitting back with a nearly doubled salary, Lowry went to the gym for fine-tuning — and a little thievery.

"Every year, it's always something different," he said. "I'm always refining, adjusting. You can always fix your jump shot to make it even better.

"I take bits and pieces from everybody. Last summer, I watched (Golden State Warriors point guard) Steph Curry, the way he shoots the ball. I want to be able to one day get — I won't be as great a shooter as he is, but why not get up there? Why not be that type of shooter, where you can't leave me at all?

"I'm a student of the game. I'm not ashamed of saying I'll steal things from everybody, I'll take tidbits from everybody. That's one thing about it: I just love the game and just watching it. ... I've got two TVs in my house just to watch basketball. I sit there and watch the games. I love watching the games."

Lowry is averaging career highs of 19.0 points and 4.8 rebounds along with 7.3 assists and 1.6 steals a game for the Raptors, who were 33-16 entering Wednesday's game against the Brooklyn Nets. His 25.9 usage rate, measuring the percentage of his team's possessions in which a player is involved, also is a career high.

So he's an All-Star, a deserving one after being snubbed last season. Lowry got a late boost from Bieber, the Canadian pop star who urged his 60 million-plus Twitter followers to vote (but forgot to include the proper #NBABallot tag in his tweet). That pushed him past Miami Heat guard Dwyane Wade in the final days of the balloting.

"It's still shocking," Lowry said. "It's still pretty cool. I'm still kind of getting used to me being in that position."

Lowry put himself in that position through dramatic improvement. He's always been a remarkable athlete, his speed and power offering a difficult to defend combination. But this season brought a new level out of Lowry, particularly when shooting guard DeMar DeRozan, the Raptors' All-Star last season, went down for 21 games. Lowry averaged 21.8 points and 8.7 assists during that stretch, as the team went 12-9 to stay among the East's top teams.

"He's become a lot more efficient offensively," said Washington Wizards guard Garrett Temple, who met Lowry at a high school All-Star camp a decade ago. "When you saw DeMar go out, people kind of wrote off the Toronto Raptors for at least as long as he was going to be out. Kyle showed that he could basically carry a team and put them on his back. The biggest thing is he's getting in the lane more."

DeRozan is back now, and the Raptors had a six-game winning streak before losing Monday to the Milwaukee Bucks. Lowry's chemistry and friendship with DeRozan was key in his free agency, when he was courted by the Rockets and Miami Heat, most prominently.

Lowry ended up returning to Toronto, where a "We The North" movement has increased the team and sport's popularity. He credited his teammates along with mentors such as retired All-Star Chauncey Billups. But the improvement was a process, whether he was stealing from Curry and the Los Angeles Clippers' Chris Paul (going to the right on pull-up jumpers) or developing his low-post game.

The recognition followed, though it's not the kind he wants most.

"No, I still got to work. I still got more work to put in. I still got more to do," Lowry said. "I want to get to the Finals. I want to win a championship. That's my goal for my career."

FIRST-TIMERS

Along with Lowry, four others will make NBA All-Star Game debuts Feb. 15 in New York.

SG Jimmy Butler Chicago Bulls

• Statistics: 20.5 points, 6.0 rebounds and 1.8 steals a game.
• Why he made it: The fourth-year swingman has increased his scoring output 56% this season. As Derrick Rose felt his way back from injury, Butler has been the Bulls' rock and perhaps the most improved player in the NBA.
• Quick fact: The former Marquette star has averaged 39.1 minutes per game over the past two seasons to lead the NBA.

C DeMarcus Cousins Sacramento Kings

• Statistics: 23.7 points, 12.5 rebounds and 1.6 blocks a game.
• Why he made it: Selected by Commissioner Adam Silver as an injury replacement, the fifth-year big man is the league's most dominant traditional low-post player who's also averaging 3.2 assists a game. He even improved his free throw shooting, to 81.7%.
• Quick fact: Cousins is one of six All-Stars to miss at least 10 games already this season.

PG Jeff Teague Atlanta Hawks

• Statistics: 16.8 points, 7.5 assists and 1.7 steals a game.
• Why he made it: Teague is second on the Hawks in scoring (to fellow All-Star Paul Millsap), player efficiency rating (to fellow All-Star Al Horford) and on-court point differential (to sharpshooter Kyle Korver).
• Quick fact: Teague joins Tim Duncan and Chris Paul to give Wake Forest three All-Stars, tying Kentucky for most this season.

SG Klay Thompson Golden State Warriors

• Statistics: 22.5 points a game, 44.8% three-point shooting.
• Why he made it: The fourth-year guard has become the reliable sidekick to leading All-Star vote-getter Stephen Curry as part of the "Splash Brothers." In January, he averaged 25.9 points per game and shooting 53.6% from the field.
• Quick fact: Thompson (father Mychal) is one of four All-Stars whose fathers played in the NBA, along with Kobe Bryant (Joe), Curry (Dell) and Horford (Tito).​